Master's Duchess, Doctor's Anomaly
by Master's Duchess
Summary: Time Lady OC. This is the story of Oliviana, the Time Lady who was the fiancee of the Doctor before his exile on Earth, the Time Lady who was the lover and companion to the Master throughout all of time, and the Time Lady who became Lucy Saxon. Goes into the 18 months the Master was on Earth after Utopia. I take small, barely-perceptible, liberties. Don't like, don't read.
1. Gallifreyan Funeral

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for clicking on this story! The idea had been floating around in my mind for over a year and I finally decided to write it down. I am currently writing this note while I am in the process of writing chapter 36 because I wanted to warn you that I do take liberties with the story. Due to recent reviews assuming that I am unaware of what is and is not canon, I thought I would warn everyone prior to their reading the story.

First, I know the names Theta Sigma and Koschei are not canon as being their true names, but I, along with many other writers, choose to use these names as their true names. Different writers use true names in different ways with different levels of secrecy and importance surrounding them. I choose to use the names as every day names between Time Lords on Gallifrey. While the names are said around humans, it is always while the Time Lords are speaking Gallifreyan so the humans can't understand it.

Second, I take small liberties with how I portray the lives of the Master and the Doctor while they are on Gallifrey. I am aware that, according to canon, the Doctor had grandchildren on Gallifrey. Without giving too much away, I can say that I allude to the Doctor having at least one child on Gallifrey, but that's about it for now until I work on the plot a little more.

Third, this story switches between following certain 10th Doctor episodes to my own writing. There is a method to my madness. **This story is primarily about the Master and my Time Lady OC and it follows the events post-Utopia, during the 18 months the Master was on Earth, during the Year that Never Was, skips to my writing, picks up at the return of the Master, and then finally back to my writing again**.

Finally, thank you to everyone who is genuinely interested in reading this story. I love this story, and while I know there are some parts that don't line up 100% with the canon, I am proud of how may things I am able to incorporate correctly (especially later on in the story). I have never seen a story exactly like this one, and I love the idea of it. I am so thankful for everyone else who gives it a chance and especially those who review it, so I know how it's going. If you don't like the story, tell me why instead of "schooling" me on the series. That's not constructive, that's you showing off and I'm not an idiot.

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><p>Oliviana swayed at the precipice overlooking the lake below. Looking at her distant reflection, she sighed, disenchanted and discarded. Bitter, anguished tears welled up in her eyes as she cast the locket at her likeness, the ripples severing the reflection's face.<p>

The rapidly vanishing sun reminded her that her protector was lost. The one person who was a benevolent constant in her life since her birth was no more; his ashes were scattered into the bitter wind no more than two hours prior. Oliviana's hearts yearned for one more day with him, one more day to tell her elder brother how much he really meant to her. But all hope was futile. He was lost, and she was alone.

She remembered how her mother wept, collapsing at base of her brother's funeral pyre in utter desolation, acquaintances in attendance regarding the spectacle with morbid fascination. Oliviana's father mourned the fall of the House of Everton more so than he mourned his deceased successor, and the sentiment manifested on his ashen face.

Oliviana remembered how she stood paralyzed, her emerald eyes transfixed on the nauseating scene before her, exactly as she had done the night she saw her brother's ripped out hearts palpitate for the final time.

Koschei had attended the funeral, of course. He remained resolutely at her side throughout its entirety. His hand clutched hers as her mind was absorbed in incessant blackness once more. As the flames towered menacingly over the pyre, Koschei drew her stunned body into his arms, caressing her back until all that was left of her brother were chalky ashes and dying embers.

Theta Sigma had also attended the funeral, but instead of consoling his fiancee, he lingered near the back of the gathering. He should have realized that his best friend would be the one to hold Oliviana and brush away her tears.

As the crowd began to disperse, leaving the immediate family and friends to make peace with the death one last time, Theta's eyes locked with Koschei's. Koschei instinctively tightened his embrace around Oliviana as shot Theta a brief, threatening glance. The drums thundered inside of Koschei's head as a feeling of desperate protectiveness heaved inside of him. Quelling his jealousy and rage, Theta retreated toward the Capitol to resume his trial.

Oliviana nestled her head against Koschei's chest, allowing her mind to find its way out of the blackness and into the present moment. "Koschei," she whimpered feebly, her fine fingers grasping his saturated shirt and her glistening eyes raising to meet his anxious ones. "Koschei, will you take me to the cliffs?"

Koschei wanted to decline, wanted to warn her against any dramatic behavior that might panic her parents further, but he knew that he could never withstand her quivering lower lip and desperate expression. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded his consent, only composing himself once Oliviana's head rested against his chest again.

"Will you carry me there, Koschei?" she murmured, "I fear my legs will not move right now."

Submitting to her wishes once more, Koschei scooped her up into his arms. Oliviana snuggled up to his body, nestling her head in the crook of his neck. Evading her parents, Koschei walked across the rolling fields of crimson grass.

When Koschei came upon the cliffs overlooking the silvery lake, Oliviana asked him to put her back onto her feet. Her voice and demeanor had a haunted quality to it that Koschei couldn't quite discern. "Oliviana," he uttered, managing for the first time today to address her in words. Oliviana turned to face him for a moment, before advancing toward the edge of the cliff.

Koschei felt an awful sense of dread as he watched Oliviana throw a rock into the lake below. He felt lost at how to soothe her agony, hopeless at how to make her eyes twinkle with delight once more. Even though their race had control of time, no amount of vortex manipulation would be enough to bring her brother back to her, to erase the image of his mutilated body from her mind.

Oliviana took a few steps away from the cliff, a pained look twisting the fine features of her face. She remembered the way her brother had howled in pain as his tormentor carved into his chest, remembered how she just stood there, let it happen because she was too terror-stricken to move. She was as much responsible for her brother's death as was the man who killed him.

Koschei would never be able to delineate the moment when he knew Oliviana had come apart at the seams. In a span of a few moments, Oliviana's retreat away from the cliffside reversed into a swift charge toward the land's edge, and the only thing that had prevented her from plummeting into the freezing waters was Koschei's powerful interception.

Oliviana cried out as she was forced to the earth, pinned down by the weight of Koschei's body.

"What were you thinking?" Koschei exclaimed in confused indignation, not willing to release her yet. He feared that she would try another stunt like that one again.

Oliviana trembled, looking away from Koschei's scrutinizing gaze in shame. "I can't do this anymore, Koschei. I miss him," she groaned, sobs racking her body.

"You will always miss your brother," Koschei whispered softly, sitting up and pulling her into his arms, "but you won't hurt this much forever, Oliviana."

"Don't you ever leave me, Koschei. Swear you won't," she implored, searching his eyes for something unknown, her voice taking on an unusual throaty tone.

Koschei's senses were overwhelmed and the momentum of the drumming in his head rioted at a faster pace. "I promise. You're mine," Koschei uttered, his voice thick with a primal desire to possess and protect her from everything and everyone. His gaze lingered on her pillowy lips.

"You're mine," he declared more urgently this time, capturing her lips with his own.


	2. Tea Time with Theta Sigma

**One year ago.**

_Oliviana woke up the next morning with puffy, dark red eyes. She rolled over in bed, burrowing deeper into the mess of pillows and blankets, unwilling to raise herself and face the day. Not after a night like last night._

_Her mother had other plans, however. As soon as Oliviana rolled over, her bedroom doors burst open and Lady Everton swept in, a large garment bag hanging from an up stretched hand. _

_Lady Everton stopped at the foot of her daughter's bed and rolled her eyes. "Really, Oliviana, you must stop spending all day in bed."_

_"__Mother, I'm old enough to make clothing decisions by myself," Oliviana grumbled, pulling herself out of bed to see what monstrosity her mother picked out for her this time. "Besides I don't have anything important going on today, don't I?"_

_Lady Everton clucked her tongue in disapproval of Oliviana's attitude and unzipped the garment bag. The dress was strapless with a modest corset top and a flowing skirt that went to the floor. The skirt was overlaid with delicate white lace. _

_Oliviana's eyes lit up and her mouth dropped as her hands glided over the fabric. "I love it!"_

_"__I knew you would," Lady Everton smiled. She turned Oliviana around and undid her bed clothing and helped her into the dress. "Lady Lungbarrow tells me that Theta Sigma is quite partial to light green."_

_Oliviana turned toward her mother in surprise; Lady Everton pushed Oliviana's shoulders back around so she could finish fastening the bodice of the dress. "Why does it matter that this is his favorite color? He's not coming over today is he?"_

_When Lady Everton said nothing, Oliviana turned around once more, "Is he?!"_

_Lady Everton chuckled and sat Oliviana down in front of the vanity. She pulled her long brown hair half-up and tied a white lace bow to hold it up. "Lady Lungbarrow and I thought it would be good for you two to spend some time getting to know each other before the wedding."_

_"__Mother, what on earth am I supposed to do with him? I know nothing about him!"_

_"__Don't worry," Lady Everton turned Oliviana around to face her and began applying light rouge to her cheeks, "You two will have a light tea in the garden. It'll give you plenty of time to talk this over."_

_Oliviana snatched the rouge from her mother's hands and put it away, unwilling for her mother to apply any more than she already had. "If I have to do this, I want to do this my way. I want the tea to be moved to the far garden, under the pink trees."_

_Lady Everton nodded her consent and stood Oliviana up. She linked their arms together and led Oliviana from the room. "Your father and I are so proud of you."_

_Oliviana's chest tightened as she remembered the events of last night —Koschei explaining that his parents had arranged for him to marry the heiress to the House of Tinslety— but she quickly pushed that from her mind. _

_She was turning over a new leaf with Theta Sigma, so to speak. "It became apparent that Koschei and I would never work out."_

_That was all Lady Everton had hoped to hear and she found herself giddy with the news as she guided her daughter through the manor toward the garden. _

_"__Now, your father and I will not chaperone your tea with Theta Sigma since you two are engaged, but we urge you to make sure that you both behave properly. We don't need another scandal."_

_Oliviana laughed at her mother's suggestion. "Believe me, mother, nothing improper will occur between Theta Sigma and me. I promise."_

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><p><em>"<em>_Lady Oliviana, I am so honored that you invited me to your estate this morning," Theta Sigma announced, taking Oliviana's hand in his own as he bowed in greeting. Lord and Lady Everton were charmed by this gesture, and it showed clearly on their faces._

_Oliviana curtseyed to Theta Sigma in return. "I am honored you accepted my invitation. Shall we go out into the garden, now?" Theta Sigma nodded and the two went through the gardens to the secluded tea table under drooping silver trees._

_As soon as she knew her parents were out of sight and earshot, Lady Oliviana laughed out loud, amusing Theta Sigma. "What's so funny?"_

_Oliviana collapsed onto one of the chairs and took off her lace gloves. Theta sat in the chair next to her. "I can't believe how formal you just were! I would have never guessed you had it in you based on all the times you got in trouble at the Academy for troublemaking."_

_Theta chuckled and poured Oliviana a cup of tea. "What can I say? I'm a man of many secrets."_

_"__Oh? I didn't realize that," Oliviana teased._

_"__Didn't realize I had many secrets?"_

_Oliviana sipped her tea, savoring the light citrus flavor. "No that you are in fact a man. I had it under the strictest confidence that you are more of a child than a man."_

_Theta clamped a hand over his chest in mock-hurt. "You cut me deep, Oliviana. Truly, you're terrible," he bantered, knowing she didn't really mean what she said. _

_"__Of course I'm terrible," Oliviana grinned, "Why else would I have gone so long without getting engaged?"_

_Theta took Oliviana's hand into his own. "Because you knew I am the finest male specimen to ever grace Gallifrey."_

_"__Yes that must be it," Oliviana conceded with mirth. _

_Her mind was focused on trying to decipher her feelings about Theta. On the one hand, she still felt the numbing pain of losing Koschei, but on the other hand, she was enjoying herself in Theta's presence. _

_Theta had a way about him that made her forget all of her concerns, and maybe that wasn't so bad. While she certainly knew that she would never have a passionate relationship with Theta, she knew a life with him would be exciting, fun, and never boring. _

_Plus, he would cherish her and make every effort to please her. That had to count for something._

_Theta pulled Oliviana into a standing position next to him and escorted her through the gardens. _

_"__Do you know where you're leading me, Theta?"_

_Theta beamed brilliantly and turned left around a hedge. "Absolutely no idea, but where's the fun of exploring what you already know?"_

_Oliviana smiled; she couldn't agree more. "I take it you have a taste for adventure?"_

_"__Oh, you could say that. I intend to borrow a TARDIS and explore time and space. I want to see everything. I want to experience and learn and feel," Theta intimated, hesitating briefly to pick an orange flower from of the garden. He turned toward her and put the flower into her hair gently. _

_"__Surely you're not planning on doing this after the wedding? We'll have responsibilities and duties," Oliviana inquired, flushing slightly. She noticed her hearts beating a little faster by Theta's sudden tenderness._

_Theta brushed Oliviana's hair from her face, seemingly concentrating on not messing it up, but at the same time messing it up anyways. "No of course not, I was going to do it before the wedding."_

_Oliviana smiled. "Well then, I shall allow it." _

_"__You'll allow it?" Theta chuckled. "I didn't know I needed your permission to do things."_

_"__Oh yes, you most definitely do," Oliviana assured playfully. "Husbands always need their wives' permission to do things."_

_"__Well in that case," Theta lowered his voice and moved closer to Oliviana. "May I have the Lady's permission to kiss her?"_

_Step one of forgetting about Koschei was to move on. And that's exactly what Oliviana aimed to do. She moved even closer to Theta so that they were almost touching. "You may."_

_Theta snaked an arm around Oliviana's back, pulling her against his chest. She could feel the rapid beating of his hearts. His free hand cupped her cheek and pulled her face closer to his. With shallow breathes, Theta looked into Oliviana's eyes, searching for hesitation. "You're sure?"_

_Oliviana couldn't think lucidly, not with Theta so close and not with the feeling of tranquil bliss flowing through her. What Theta lacked in smoldering passion, he made up for in tenderness, and Oliviana felt herself reveling in the feeling of being treasured. _

_"__Shut up and kiss me."_

_Theta obliged, brushing his lips gently against hers. Oliviana's hands settled against Theta's chest as she opened her lips slightly, allowing him to deepen the kiss for a moment before she slightly pulled away, blushing. _

_Theta chuckled fondly and kissed Oliviana's forehead. "Come on, your parents are probably wondering where we are. Not to mention, if your brother ever found us, I'd be dead." _

_Oliviana's fingers intertwined with Theta's and they started toward the manor slowly, enjoying each other's company as they chatted about random nothings._

_"__Thank you for today, Theta, really I mean it," Oliviana smiled, pulling aside Theta before they exited the garden and were in sight of her parents sitting outside the manor. _

_Theta brushed his lips against her forehead. "I should be thanking you, Oliviana. I know I wasn't your first choice to be engaged to, but I hope I will make you happy regardless."_

_Oliviana was touched by what Theta said and chastised herself for ever doubting her parents' decision to engage her to Theta. "Theta, you make me laugh and you make me feel safe and wanted. You weren't my first choice before today, but now I couldn't imagine marrying anyone else and being this happy. You're the amusement I never knew I needed."_

_Theta's eyes lit up and the corner of his lips turned into a bashful smile. "And you're my sweet little anomaly."_

_Oliviana rose her eyebrows and giggled. "Anomaly?"_

_Grinning, Theta pulled her into a warm embrace. "Everything about you is nothing I ever expected and I love it."_

_Oliviana struggled to come up with words to say that wouldn't ruin the moment, so she pulled herself up to his height and brushed her lips against his in an affectionate, yet chaste, kiss. _

_"__Come on, fiancé, let's go inside."_

_Theta straightened his jacket in giddy nervousness and followed Oliviana inside._


	3. The Wrath of a Father

_"__You're mine," he declared more urgently this time, capturing her lips with his own._

Oliviana tilted her head back and parted her lips slightly, submitting to Koschei's inebriating kiss.

Propriety and decency didn't matter anymore to her; she lost her brother, her mother's metal state was rapidly decaying, her father was, well, _her father_, and her fiancé was exploring the universe without the decency to return home for the funeral.

The sun had completely descended by then, obscuring their passionate embrace under the veil of partial darkness. But eyes closed to the world, neither Oliviana nor Koschei perceived the absence of light; Oliviana's fingers clutched the back of Koschei's head, pulling herself closer to him as his tongue flicked across her bottom lip, demanding an entrance which she greedily granted.

Her mind, while it was no longer submerged in numbing blackness, was murky with indistinguishable thoughts and her hearts pounded startlingly, but it made no difference to her. There, on the soft scarlet grass by the precipice overlooking the placid lake, thoroughly consumed in Koschei's covetous embrace, Oliviana could imagine nowhere else she would rather be.

There was nothing that would bring her brother back, but perhaps there was _someone_ who would distract her from the chaos that ate away at her life ever since that night.

Theta used to be her amusing distraction, but now, every time she dreamt about him, all she saw was how he hesitated when her brother cried out to him for help, how Theta had fled Gallifrey after her brother's death because he couldn't face the consequences of his inaction.

The sound of the wind whipping against the steep cliffs and whispering through the trees and grass, coalesced with the reverberating percussions of their hearts, and prevented both Oliviana and Koschei from realizing they were no longer alone.

"Oliviana."

Oliviana's blood curdled and she felt as if she had been tossed into freezing water below. Koschei's hold tightened around her possessively, and they withdrew from each other in haste upon recognizing the gravelly voice of Oliviana's father, Lord Everton.

Koschei pulled Oliviana into a standing position and stepped in front of her. She pressed against his back and grasped his hand into both of hers, both to steady the feeling of panic that overcame her every sense, and also to steady Koschei's volatile reactions to provocations.

Lord Everton stood opposite to the couple, seething with pent up anger. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked toward the stars to prevent himself from tearing apart his only remaining descendant.

"Your mother is currently overcome by grief, and I thought it only right that you would be too," Lord Everton began in a chilling tone that made Oliviana's flesh crawl. "And then I find out that the High Council is holding a trial for your fiancé, so I thought that you _must_ be there in support of him."

He paused and motioned to the land around them in a grandiose manner. "Yet, _here_ you are."

Alarmed, Oliviana elbowed her way around Koschei, disregarding his muttered protest. "Trial? That can't be possible, he's not even on Gallifrey. Theta told me he would be adventuring through the universe until our wedding."

Koschei's teeth ground together at the reference to the impending wedding, but he remained silent, not wanting to let Oliviana know that he had seen Theta Sigma at the funeral.

Lord Everton snorted condescendingly at his daughter's naivety; she really was the spitting image of her mother, both in appearance and personality. "He has been accused of breaking the nonintervention policy, which you would have known had you not been out here selfishly."

"Lord Everton, with all due respect," Koschei said through his clenched jaw.

"Silence, I will deal with you in a moment," Lord Everton interrupted harshly, pointing a fleshy finger in his direction. Oliviana heard a growl echo in Koschei's throat and Oliviana knew she had to intervene to prevent Koschei from doing anything irrational.

"Father, what happened to Theta Sigma? Surely they didn't find him guilty," Oliviana pleaded, looking to her father for compassion, but dreading the answer she knew he would give.

Laughing cynically, Lord Everton's face twisted into a malicious leer. "If you must know, he has been exiled to the Earth with no knowledge of how to operate a Tardis."

Both Oliviana and Koschei paled, their hands instinctively reaching for each other's for support. Oliviana's breathing became shallow and rapid. While she didn't love Theta Sigma, she still feared for him. He had been there for her when Koschei could not be.

"Does that mean my wedding is off?" she stammered slowly, not wanting to provoke her father further.

"Of course it's off. You and your little love triangle has ruined this family enough," Lord Everton snarled, his face flushing. He took a menacing step in Oliviana's direction and Oliviana flinched away in fear.

"And you!" Lord Everton rounded on Koschei, "How dare you ruin my daughter's reputation when you are engaged yourself?"

Koschei's eyes blackened and his jaw clenched. Oliviana guessed that he had surrendered to the rioting drums in his head. "How dare you pretend to be concerned about your daughter?" Koschei fired back, challenging the older Time Lord.

"Koschei, please," Oliviana begged, stepping in front of Koschei and placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down. Koschei simply looked over her as he squared his shoulders in opposition to Lord Everton.

"My daughter is my possession, not yours!" Lord Everton fumed, jerking Oliviana away from Koschei violently and pulling her toward him. Oliviana's hearts hurt more than her seized arm did. She knew her father didn't love her, but she thought that he had at least thought of her as a person, not a possession.

"On the contrary, _Lord Everton_," Koschei hissed, his voice taking on a lethal edge Oliviana had never heard before, "I think you'll find that she's _mine_." Koschei stepped closer to Lord Everton, his hands balled in fists and his teeth bared aggressively.

Lord Everton pursed his lips in contempt of the younger Time Lord. "She is not your daughter."

"No, but she loves me, and that's more than can be said for you."

Oliviana's lips trembled and angry tears welled in her eyes. Her father and her Koschei were fighting over her on the day of her brother's funeral and it was finally too much for her to handle. "Please," she whispered in a ragged voice, eyes closing in emotional pain.

Lord Everton turned toward her with a cruel and indifferent expression. "You are a disgrace of a daughter for taking a side against your own father," he snarled as he shook her shoulders.

Oliviana cried out. Finally giving in to the pressures of the day, her knees buckled and she crumpled to the ground. Koschei rushed forward and gathered her into his arms, rocking her back and forth in consolation.

"I think you should leave now, Lord Everton," Koschei hissed in a low voice that wavered with barely-restrained rage.

"I think I shall," Lord Everton roared. "I don't ever want to see that worthless child near my estate ever again. I'd rather have it fall to ruin than have her inherit it."

Lord Everton was still for a moment, emotions twisting his facial features menacingly; he turned around and storming away toward the Capitol. Oliviana and Koschei sat in silence, shaking from the encounter and the bitter wind that battered their bodies.

"Koschei, where will I go now?" Oliviana rasped, looking up at Koschei through her glistening lashes.

Koschei rested his forehead against hers and brought his hands to her face, rubbing the tears away from her cheeks. "Well I suppose it's a blessing that my mother has always been fond of you," he joked half-heartedly in an attempt to stop her tears.

"But what about my mother?" Oliviana wailed once more, "I can't leave her alone with _him_!"

Koschei brushed his lips against hers briefly. "I will talk to my father and see what can be done for your mother. I agree that she should not be alone with your father."

"Koschei, I don't think I can do this anymore. Everything I had is broken," she whispered, fingers tightening in his shirt. "I can't, no I _won't_ put you through this."

"Oliviana," Koschei cooed, his hot breath tickling her ear. "I'm not sure you understand the meaning of 'mine.' You're not alone anymore. I'm going to take care of you and rebuild everything that fell apart. I can't bring your brother back, but I can find the one who did that to him."

Oliviana turned her face and pressed her lips against his in a hungry kiss. She pulled away briefly, "When you find him, promise me you won't let him get away with his life."


	4. Thandel's Wish

**Five Years Ago.**

_Thandel Everton surveyed the class in front of him through narrowed eyes. It was devastatingly clear to him that none of the young Gallifreyan students had any interest in his lecture._

_"__Yes, Mister Oakdown," Thandel smiled and pointed to Koschei Oakdown, the one student who was paying attention in a room of over one hundred students._

_Koschei rose from his seat, notebook in hand. "The solution would be to construct a calibrator device," he stated matter-of-factly, before returning to his seat with a satisfied smirk on his face. _

_Thandel nodded in agreement and tried not to notice young Rysra Tinslety biting her lip and looking him up and down. He shot her an exasperated look for what seemed like the millionth time that day, tired of having to discourage her inappropriate advances every class._

_"__Right, so that brings me to your project," he perked up, relishing the groans he received in response. "You will be constructing a calibrator device according to the specifications I have discussed in today's lecture," more groans from the students who weren't paying attention, "and just because I know you all love when professors do this, I have decided to give you all partners of my choosing."_

_Thandel was beaming with delight at the reaction; in his opinion, it was one of the better parts of being a professor at the Time Academy. While shaping the minds of soon-to-be Time Lords and Ladies was fulfilling and all, it was the little things that made Thandel's job rewarding. _

_"__Before you leave, check the sheet at the front of the room for your partner," he said, dismissing the class. He sat down behind his desk in the corner of the room and filed papers, pretending to not notice the few students who procrastinated in the room; they would undoubtedly delay his escape from the Academy for the night._

_"__Thandel," a particularly whiny voice drawled dramatically. Thandel's head lifted with an amused expression as he looked at the girl in front of him. _

_"__How can I help you this time, Oliviana?" Thandel chuckled, knowing he was annoying his younger sister. _

_Oliviana pouted and was about to stomp her feet in mild frustration, but thought better of it and resorted to tossing her books on her brother's desk. "I really don't think I should have to do this assignment. Father says I need to practice my other courses more than this one. How am I supposed to do that when you assign me so much work?" she complained, absently twirling her brown hair around her fingers._

_"__Well, you tell father that if he wants to dictate how to teach almost-Time Lords, then he can become a professor."_

_Oliviana rolled her eyes and laughed at her brother's attitude. "Seriously, Thandel, how am I supposed to learn all of this? You know I don't understand any of it."_

_"__Well," he drawled, smiling, "since you happen to be one of my favorite students, I decided to do you a favor and find you someone to teach you everything."_

_Oliviana grimaced, not particularly savoring the idea of someone in her year teaching her things she didn't want to learn in the first place. "Who's my tutor then?"_

_Thandel's face lit up in a large smile that barely hid his excitement. "Koschei, heir to House of Oakdown," he declared very audibly in a grandiose manner. _

_Oliviana's face flushed as the other students in the room fell silent and either looked at her or at Koschei, who was sitting over his notebook. At the mention of his name, Koschei's head snapped up and stared agape at Oliviana._

_Oliviana's throat tightened and her mouth dried up instantly. She turned to her brother, hoping she had misheard him. "Koschei?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at Thandel._

_Oliviana raised her eyes upward and inhaled deeply, calming down. Oliviana couldn't deny that Koschei was captivating. No, captivating wasn't the right word, she thought, he was enchanting. His dark brown eyes that peaked out from under his dark brown hair smoldered whenever their eyes caught from across the room._

_Thandel only grinned back at her, pleased with his arrangement, and even more pleased that his mother had suggested it to him, all done without Oliviana's knowledge. Lady Everton had asked him to pair Oliviana and Koschei up, to put the idea into Lord Oakdown and Lord Everton's heads to arrange a marriage between their two._

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Oliviana, I thought we would begin by constructing a calibrator device together," Koschei declared as he seated himself opposite Oliviana._

_Oliviana was too intently focused on arranging one of the ringlets in her hair that had fallen out to notice Koschei had spoken. She was anxious, that much was evident, but she was also reluctant to cause Koschei think she was a simpleton like other girls in their year at the Academy were. _

_Mainly Rysra, Oliviana thought, smiling at the thought of Rysra trying to figure out how to build the device with Theta Sigma._

_An hour into the task, Oliviana found herself beginning to nod off as Koschei lectured her about the individual components of the device they would have to construct. _

_There's only three more hours to go. Oliviana straightened her spine, set her jaw, and turned to her tutor with a reinvigorated sense of resolution not to be made the fool this time._

_"__Koschei, you're not doing your side of the calibrator properly," Oliviana sniffed, snatching the device from his hands. It was a lie, obviously; everyone in their year at the Academy knew that he was by far the most brilliant student. _

_Koschei's dark eyes scrutinized Oliviana's smug face with righteous indignation. "Oliviana! What the hell do you think you're doing with the calibrator? You don't know the first thing about it!"_

_Oliviana simpered at her tutor's consternation. Truth be told, she took pleasure in vexing Koschei. _

_Picking up a tool, she faced her incensed partner. "Calm down. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you blew a gasket in your brain, dear Koschei," she teased, tampering with the calibrator. _

_"__Anyways, why do you think I don't know anything about this? Look at my side of the device, it's flawless!"_

_"__Flawless!" Koschei exclaimed, scarcely believing her audacity. Anticipating his next actions, Koschei briskly seized the device from Oliviana's control while she was grabbing another tool._

_Before she could object, Koschei cut her off. "We have to complete this project before we graduate from the Academy, Oliviana, and for that to happen, we need to stop this arguing. You work on this side of the calibrator," he pointed to the smaller, trivial part of the device, "and I'll work on the other side of it, okay?"_

_Conceding that her tutor was probably right, Oliviana resumed working on the device, albeit on her small part of it. "So what are your plans for after graduation?" she inquired, in part because she enjoyed making small talk and in part because she knew he despised it._

_Koschei didn't look up from the device as he replied. "My father wants me to go into politics, so I'll probably do modest assignments for the High Council at first, maybe work my way up to be a Council member after some time."_

_Oliviana let out a faint, impressed whistle. "Sounds utterly riveting," she jested. She knew that his father wanted him to go into politics like every other male of the Oakdown family, despite the fact that Koschei was a mastermind in the fields of engineering and inventing._

_Koschei chuckled at her reaction, "It's not like you will be doing anything more useful, is it?"_

_"__You know my parents don't have any ambitions for me," Oliviana scowled in chagrin._

_"__And why would they?" Koschei asked rhetorically. "Your family is very prestigious. Your responsibility as the heiress is to secure a formidable marriage alliance."_

_Oliviana rolled her eyes at his undisguised mirth. "I am flattered that you are finding the energy to mock me, Koschei. Real sympathetic."_

_Koschei finally raised his gaze from the calibrator and looked fixedly into Oliviana's eyes. A subtle smile graced his enticing lips and Oliviana blushed upon realizing that she just described his lips as enticing. "And I am flattered that you are finding the energy to adore me, Oliviana."_

_Oliviana sputtered and looked away, praying her cheeks didn't flush even further at being discovered. "I was not adoring you."_

_"__I beg to differ," he stated matter-of-factly. He continued to work on the calibrator, complacent with the knowledge that he disconcerted Oliviana._

_"__Well no one asked you for your opinion anyway."_

_"__Admit it," Koschei chuckled, knowing that he was about to send Oliviana's hardly-present concentration into a tail-spin, "you are attracted to me."_

_Oliviana's jaw dropped along with the tool she was holding. She took a few moments to regain her composure as she bent below the table to retrieve the tool. Sitting back up she looked directly into Koschei's eyes in defiance. "So what if I am?"_

_Koschei hadn't anticipated for her to challenge him. Instead of Oliviana being the one caught off-guard, it was Koschei who found himself in that position. _

_The drums in his mind, which had been muffled for a few moments, began hammering away again, albeit more accelerated, corresponding to the hammering of his hearts._

_Koschei put the calibrator down onto the table and reciprocated Oliviana's gaze. "Then that changes everything."_

_Oliviana's hearts careened as her stare challenged his. "Meet me at my estate tonight for dinner."_

_Koschei laughed in surprise. "Isn't it a little too early to be dining with your parents and brother, Oliviana?"_

_"__No of course it is! They won't be home tonight."_

_"__Isn't it a little too early for relations such as those that would require the absence of your parents and brother?"_

_Oliviana's eyes widened as she discerned exactly what Koschei was getting at. "No! That's not what I meant!" she stuttered, fretfully trying to make up for the misconception._

_"__I know," Koschei laughed, entertained once more at her discomfort._

_Composing herself, Oliviana continued, "It's only that I know you like to explore and there's this hidden area on the grounds of the estate that is absolutely bewitching at dusk and I think you might like it."_

_"__I'll be at your estate then," Koschei smiled, his hands caressing hers for the slightest moment, before retracting it under the table. "I'll be there." _


	5. The Master and the Duchess

_"I'll be at your estate then," Koschei smiled, his hands caressing hers for the slightest moment, before retracting it under the table. "I'll be there."_

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Good lord," Oliviana muttered aghast, finally spotting Koschei walking up the path to her manor. What had she gotten herself into? she thought as she smoothed out a wrinkle on her soft azure dress. Her free hand tightened around the picnic basket she was carrying. _

_Damn him and damn that smirk on his face, she complained in her mind, watching him saunter up the steps. It was not fair for someone to look that good in just a pair of dark trousers and a thick sweater. _

_Taking a deep breath and deciding it was now or never, Oliviana plastered what she hoped was an alluring smirk on her face as he approached her and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace of greeting. _

_"__I must be the most fortunate guy to have Miss Oliviana Everton escort me around her extensive property on this fine night" Koschei teased, breaking the embrace and taking the picnic basket from her. They walked down the steps toward the forest at the edge of her estate._

_"__There's no need to wax poetic, Koschei," Oliviana laughed, confidently taking his free hand into hers as they strolled into the woods. _

_Koschei's thumb caressed the back of her hand as they walked and conversed lightly with each other about silly things. After a while, they came to a stop by a trickling stream that flowed through the middle of a clearing in the forest._

_Oliviana led Koschei to a fallen tree and motioned for him to sit next to her on the trunk. Koschei placed the basket by his feet, and Oliviana opened it, passing a wrapped sandwich to him and getting one for herself._

_"__So is this the place you thought I would like?" Koschei asked with a smile on his face as he took a bite of the sandwich. _

_Oliviana's pulse thundered so loudly that she was afraid Koschei might hear it. She swallowed hastily. "Do you like it?" she replied anxiously._

_Koschei put down the sandwich and raised a hand to Oliviana's face, brushing a long ringlet behind her ear. "I love it," he murmured, his velvety tone electrifying every particle of her being. _

_Oliviana felt hypnotized by his gaze and looked away, face flushing with nervous excitement. She looked back at Koschei and noticed a distant gleam in his eyes. _

_Was he thinking about her? Oliviana's head was already swimming with romantic fantasies; she knew she had no chance of thinking clearly tonight. Part of her thought that inviting him to accompany her tonight was a bad idea, but another part of her didn't want this feeling to go away._

_"__Koschei, what are you thinking about?" Oliviana asked curiously._

_There was the distant look in his eyes still. "Can you hear it?"_

_Oliviana cocked her head to the side, not sure if she quite understood what Koschei was getting at. "Can I hear what, Koschei?"_

_Koschei's eyes clouded over and Oliviana unconsciously reached out and placed a palm against his cold cheek. Koschei closed his eyes gently and nuzzled her palm; she shifted closer to him and placed a hand on the back of his head, tenderly caressing his hair. "You know you don't have to be alone, Koschei. I want to help."_

_Koschei opened his eyes languidly and stared up at Oliviana through his dark lashes. "You won't want to help me when you hear what I hear and feel what I feel."_

_Oliviana smiled affectionately and brushed a thumb over his cheek, savoring the rarity that must be Koschei showing his vulnerable side to anyone. "Let me help, Koschei."_

_"__When I looked into the Untempered Schism, I heard the drums," Koschei explained with a hoarse voice. "Ever since that day I have been tormented by never-ending drumming in my head. It's always there, eating away at my mind."_

_Oliviana's chest tightened with compassion from the broken Gallifreyan in her arms and she pulled him against her, deeper into her warm embrace, hoping to lessen his distress. "I want to hear the drums," she whispered._

_Koschei shook his head against her shoulder and raised himself to look her in the eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, Oliviana."_

_"__And I don't want to see you suffer alone. Let me hear the drums," she repeated resolutely._

_Koschei guided his head closer to hers, and their eyes burned into each other. Pressing their foreheads together tenderly, Koschei allowed Oliviana to enter into his mind. He heard the drums as distinctly as he felt her mind's presence within his own. Oliviana's body trembled slightly and he knew she could hear the drums and feel the throbbing._

_Oliviana's brain felt as if it would pulsate out of her body. Her eardrums pounded, her hearts thrummed, and the drums beat on incessantly, set on destroying her sanity. Every thought in her head was twisted until she could no longer make sense of most things. _

_One thought, however, was clear: she was inexplicably drawn to Koschei. While she was attracted to him before, she felt herself being consumed by thoughts of him and desire for him now that she had shared in his pain._

_Fearing that oliviana was in pain and unable to sever the mind link, Koschei pulled away and ended their connection. "Oliviana, I didn't mean to force this on you. I'm so sorry you had to hear the drums," he apologized hastily. "One day I'll make it up to you."_

_Oliviana was silent for a few moments, concentrating on the murmuring stream and the sounds of nocturnal wildlife around them. "You might consider the drums to be a defect now, but one day you won't," she said, her voice hazy as if she weren't in complete control over the words she was saying. And maybe on some level she wasn't, but that's not to say anything or anyone was controlling her; she simply was no longer censoring everything she thought._

_"__One day you're going to command the universe. I realize now that you're too special to bow down to anyone or anything; you're going to be the universe's lord… no, it's master, and I'm going to be right there next to you, soothing you whenever the drums are too much for you to bear alone. Let me take care of you and I will let you be Koschei, my Master."_

_Koschei's mind reeled. "Master?"_

_Oliviana slid off the trunk and dropped to her knees in front of Koschei and took his hands into her own. She gazed up at him in unadulterated adoration. "You're the master, Koschei. You master everything you attempt to do. You've always been the master; when all others have failed, you alone have risen above us all."_

_The drums thundered deafeningly, but this time he was not alone- he had Oliviana and now he had a purpose, something to aspire towards. "If you stay with me through the darkness, I will not only show you the stars, I will conquer them for you."_

_Koschei slid off the trunk and onto the forest floor next to Oliviana; he pulled her against his chest and stroked her long hair. "If I am to be your master, I want you to be my duchess."_

_Oliviana chuckled and gazed up at Koschei questioningly. "If you're the master, shouldn't I be your mistress?"_

_"__Oh no," Koschei responded in mock horror. "Mistress is much too vulgar for my Liana. No, you shall be my duchess."_

_"__Duchess," Oliviana practiced saying the name, relishing in the way it rolled off her tongue._

_Koschei's hands caressed her back as he pulled his body closer to hers. His lips slowly brushed against hers for a fleeting moment. "My Duchess," he murmured against her lips, causing her to whimper with barely-controlled yearning, "I wanted to ask you something else."_

_Oliviana arched an eyebrow. "Do you hear voices as well? she jested playfully, sobering up when he didn't chuckle back. "Dear lord, do you really hear voices too?"_

_Koschei cracked a smile at her antics and shook his head. "Well, then what is it?" she asked._

_Koschei took her hands into his and looked deep into her eyes. "Will you accompany me to the graduation ball?"_


	6. The Feast of Omega

**A/N: Hi! I really hope you all are enjoying this so far. I wanted to make a story that began by exploring the more domestic side of Time Lord life, before it got to adventure. And don't worry, the Master will certainly be _crazy_ in upcoming chapters, but there will be certain events that makes him so. I would beyond appreciate it if anyone could send me feedback, since it is my first story on this website. Thank you for reading!**

**I'd also like to thank icohbh for making my day with your review. You were so encouraging, and I appreciate it so much!**

* * *

><p>Oliviana shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable in her best Time Lord traditional dress. While she normally got away with wearing simple dresses, today she would not be able to. The Feast of Omega only came around once every century, and the last one had been just before Thandel was murdered.<p>

No, there would be no way of getting to wear anything but the scarlet velvet gown. She disliked the weight of the golden bead embellishments and, even more, she hated the gold lacing winding through the back of the dress's bodice. Oliviana wondered who could have possibly thought it was a good idea to make the traditional dress both heavy _and_ restricting, but then remembered- it had to have been a male.

A gently knock at her door rose her from her thoughts. Lady Oakdown gracefully entered the room. "Oliviana, you look beautiful in that dress," her musical voice complimented as she turned the young Time Lady around to assess her from all angles.

Upon seeing Oliviana's undone hair, Lady Oakdown affectionately clucked her tongue. "Although your hair could use a little work. Sit down over there and I'll do it for you."

Oliviana sat silently as Lady Oakdown worked her long dark hair into an elegant up-do and chattered about the guests who would be in attendance at their celebration later.

"And I know you're not on the best of terms with Lady Rysra, but her family is important and apparently have an announcement to make."

Grimacing, Oliviana thought of no one she would rather see less than Koschei's ex-fiancee. "As long as she stays away from Koschei and me, there won't be any problems."

Lady Oakdown laughed lightly. She added golden jewels to Oliviana's hair. "I'm sure she won't try anything, dear. Everyone knows not to come between the two of you."

"We're not _that_ bad, are we?" Oliviana blushed.

In the early years of her stay at the Oakdown manor, Oliviana had been uncomfortable and bashful at the best of times. But after one century's time, she finally felt at ease with the Oakdown family.

Lady Everton smirked knowingly, but didn't reply verbally because Oliviana already knew the answer to her question- of _course_ they were.

Koschei had always been possessive over what was his, and that tendency was only exacerbated concerning Oliviana. In addition, Oliviana relied on Koschei for comfort and love as she had done ever since her father cast her out of her house and since Lady Everton was sent to a hospital in another galaxy for treatment.

"So maybe we are that bad actually," Oliviana conceded, examining her finished hair in the mirror, pleased with the results.

Lady Oakdown patted her on the shoulder. "I wish your father would finally consent to a marriage alliance between you and my son. It's too bad that he's been acting in such a rotten manner."

Oliviana agreed and sighed loudly. "The only way he would agree would be for him to die. If that would happen, I could legally consent to a marriage alliance, since my mother lacks the capability to make, or consent to, legal arrangements."

"With the way things are going in the political sphere, I fear all men will be at risk in the coming years," Lady Oakdown confided quietly.

She was still for a moment before throwing her hands in the air and plastering a smile on her face. "Enough of that, let's get downstairs before all of the guests arrive. It's in bad form to do otherwise," she said, leading Oliviana out of her room.

"Have you gotten a present for Koschei?" Lady Oakdown inquired. They were standing at the top of the grand staircase overlooking the dimly-lit ballroom below.

Oliviana nodded and pulled out a small, dark box from her clutch. It was ancient Gallifreyan tradition to give only one present, just for the one person who means the most to you, in celebration of the holiday.

Oliviana had the symbolism explained to her time and again by Thandel, but she was always too distracted by the holiday's happenings to actually listen.

"Good! Shall we?" Lady Oakdown linked her arm with Oliviana's and they descended the staircase slowly. Oliviana searched the small crowd gathered below for Koschei, but she couldn't immediately see him.

She turned to Lady Oakdown when they stepped onto the shiny ballroom floor. "I'm going to find Koschei, if that's alright with you?" Lady Oakdown smiled knowingly and waved her on.

Oliviana's gaze flicked around the room as she decided who she would dislike talking with the least, as she awaited Koschei's arrival.

"Dear me, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were avoiding me, Oliviana."

Closing her eyes to muster up all of her patience, Oliviana knew she couldn't cause a scene in responding to Rysra's taunting tone. She knew that once she turned to face Rysra, she would have to be polite as Rysra flipped her honey-colored tresses and pouted her glossy red lips, as Rysra flaunted her most likely luxurious gown, which would be decorated with a multitude of expensive diamonds and jewels that would sparkle, accentuating her generous feminine curves. Curves that Oliviana was currently lacking.

Oliviana inhaled deeply and turned to face her rival. What Oliviana saw was _definitely_ not what she had expected to see.

Rysra sneered. "Oh, didn't anyone tell you? I'm pregnant. Do close your mouth, it's very unladylike to have it hanging open so."

"You're pregnant?" Oliviana shot back snidely. "Dear me, I thought you just let yourself go once you married Theta."

Rysra laughed and raised her dainty eyebrows. "At least I am married."

"Like that actually matters. Everyone knows that Theta had to settle for anyone after he was exiled. I suppose you seduced him, thinking he was still my fiancé," Oliviana mused, a cruel smirk on her face as she circled around Rysra like a predator around prey.

"But it backfired, didn't it, Rysra? You got pregnant, knowing he would have to break off his engagement with me and marry you. Only he _did_ marry you, just before you found out about how low his social stock actually dropped."

Rysra's grin faded and she clutched her drink with whitening knuckles. "You really are a piece of work, Oliviana," she spat. "No wonder you can't live with your family anymore."

Oliviana cocked her head to the side in amusement. "No, instead I get to live with the family that you were supposed to marry into before you mucked it all up. Thank you so much for that, by the way. I couldn't be this _amazing_ without your help."

Rysra opened her mouth to respond, but caught sight of someone over Oliviana's shoulder and clamped her lips together immediately.

"Looking for anyone in particular, my Lady Duchess?" a warm breath tickled Oliviana's neck.

Oliviana spun around and threw her arms around Koschei's neck in greeting, purposely exaggerating her movements to spite Rysra. "Koschei, thank goodness you finally found me! I was having the most _dull_ conversation imaginable."

Koschei grinned as he realized what Oliviana was doing. Placing a hand on the small of her back, Koschei dipped Oliviana as his lips captured hers in a heated kiss. Oliviana, _of course_, tangled her fingers in his dark hair, deepening the kiss.

Koschei smiled smugly against Oliviana's lips as he heard Rysra sigh in aggravation. Oliviana straightened away from Koschei slightly and looked at Rysra, mirth blazing in her eyes. "Oh, you're still here, Rysra? You just love hating me, don't you?"

Rysra growled, looking between Koschei and Oliviana, before turning away swiftly and stomping through the crowd in the opposite direction.

"You are incorrigible, Oliviana," Koschei remarked, a slight hint of pride in his voice.

Oliviana's eyes flicked to Koschei's, an alluringly mischievous smirk still gracing her lips, tantalizing Koschei's self-control. "I learned from the best, didn't I?" she all but purred, knowing she was driving him wild.

Lowering his gaze to her plump lips, he bowed his head to press his to hers once more, not caring one _iota_ who saw their improper embrace. "You look ravishing tonight, Liviana," he murmured in a husky voice that made Oliviana imagine what other sounds he could make under certain, indecorous, circumstances.

"Ravishing," Oliviana repeated slowly, "now _there's_ an idea."

Koschei's dark eyes smoldered, making Oliviana's hearts pound harder in her chest, a feat considering how tightly-laced up she was. She knew she was tempting Koschei, knew she shouldn't be acting in such a manner with someone who she wasn't arranged to marry, but she didn't care anymore. She was the Duchess, and she'd be _damned_ if she didn't get everything she wanted.

Koschei took her hand and led her briskly through the much-increased crowd of Gallifrey's elite families, all coming together to show-off and discuss politics and scandal under the guise of celebrating the Feast of Omega.

Lining the walls of the ballroom were heavy curtains of crimson and ermine that obscured covert cavities in the walls where guests could relax away from prying eyes. Koschei languidly draped himself across the single velvet chaise-lounge and shot a challenging look at Oliviana, encouraging her submission to his desires.

She knew he expected her to sit at the edge of the cushion so he could take control and pull her to him, ravishing her until she whimpered his name.

And that's exactly why she tossed her clutch aside, turning away from him to secure the curtains and door, shut completely.

"Oliviana, you know I don't like waiting."

She faced him, slowly strolling to his side. "And you know I don't like being told what to do, _Master,_" she teased demurely. Placing her palm against his chest to prevent him from rising, Oliviana straddled his hips in one swift movement.

"Now," Oliviana purred, unfastening the golden buttons that held the front of his robe shut over the simple shirt beneath it, running her hands under the robe once she had succeeded, "what do you have hidden from me here?"

Koschei narrowed his eyes as Oliviana grasped the small dark box hidden in the folds of his garment. "Why don't you open it and see?"

Oliviana grinned with excitement as she took the small box wrapped in parchment and sat up in anticipation of unwrapping it, still straddling Koschei's hips. "What is it?" she asked, referring to the multiple pages of parchment.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Oliviana. I've spent some time devising a plan for us in case war erupts."

"Are you so sure Gallifrey will go to war?" she asked, her voice wavering with confusion. "I won't lose you too."

"I know, Duchess," Koschei conceded, his voice softening. "That's why we're going to run away together at the first sign of impending violence."

Oliviana's eyes closed slowly, deciding that Koschei would be her best bet for keeping her alive if it came to that. "But what if the High Council imposes a mandatory draft?" she worried, her voice rising in pitch. "Koschei, I'm not sure I could fight in a battle, let alone a war."

"Don't read the parchment now, save it for when you're alone. They contain the plans for escape," he instructed affectionately. "Open the box now, if you'd like."

Oliviana's delicate hands trembled as she gingerly lifted the lid. Her hearts stopped and her eyes blinked rapidly as she stared at the item inside.

Koschei gently took the ring from the box and help it in front of them. "It's a white point star diamond. I know it was silly for me to have purchased such an item considering your father's disapproval, but when I saw it, I didn't care. One day when we are safe, I will _make_ your father give us his consent, and we will be married. I don't care how long I have to wait, as long as I can legally call you mine according to the laws of our people."

Koschei took Oliviana's hand and slipped it onto her finger. Oliviana looked from the ring to Koschei, bringing her hands around the back of his head to press her lips against his. "I love it, thank you, Koschei," she whispered against his lips and kissed him once more.

"I have a present for you too," she said, pulling the small box from her clutch. She handed it to Koschei who opened it immediately.

"It's a life locket, like the one my brother gave me," Oliviana explained, referring to the locket she had thrown into the lake after Thandel's funeral. "The one he gave me glowed when he was alive, but I thought you would prefer something a little more subtle. It's designed to be carried in a pocket and feels warm. If anything happens to me, it'll go cold."

Koschei rolled the locket between his fingers pensively. "No matter where we are, I'll be able to know you're still alive," he murmured, placing the dark locket in the pocket against his chest.

Oliviana nodded softly and stretched her body on top of his once more; their embrace wasn't heated like it was moments ago, but it was more tender, more special. "Koschei, can we just stay here forever?"

Koschei rubbed circles into Oliviana's back and pulled her closer to him. "I'll see what I can do, Duchess."


	7. Extrasensory Perception

Oliviana cocked her head to the side in amusement as she stood in front of the large door through which Koschei's room was accessible from the seemingly endless corridor. While every other door in the hallway was made of elegantly carved arboreal materials, Koschei's was constructed from adamantine metals, the planetary origin of which she could only speculate.

Normally, Oliviana didn't find herself tiptoeing through halls and pressing her ear against doors, but on this particular sunny morning, Oliviana made an exception to the rule. Either she could announce her presence by knocking on the door, or she could wait for a few more moments, trying to hold back her mirth as she listened to Koschei's frustrated muttering on account of his latest project.

After graduation from the Academy, Koschei had indeed did minor jobs for the High Council; however, in less than one year, the Council promoted him straight to Chief Engineer once they learned of his accomplishments in the exigent field of excitronics. The concurrent discovery that Koschei had created an avant-garde laser device, the exact specifications of which were still unknown to everyone but its creator, only bolstered his appointment.

After a few more moments, Oliviana felt satisfied with her eavesdropping enough to rap her knuckles briskly against the door. The metal was cold and impossibly smooth, and the knocks echoed through the multi-layered metal sheets that made up the door. There was an indistinct grating racket and the rustle of parchment, followed by the creak of the door opening part-way.

Oliviana cocked an eyebrow as she beheld Koschei's unkempt appearance. Grimy oil streaked across his disheveled shirt and trousers, his dark hair was tousled, sticking up every which way, and his face held the suggestion of frenzied work.

"Are you quite near done?" she asked with an amused lilt, attempting to peer around his frame, but he shifted to block the contents of the room from her sight.

"Would you be upset if I ask for some more time alone?" Koschei asked, his eyes quickly shifting from Oliviana's, to the hallway behind her, and back to hers once more. "I'm almost done."

Oliviana smiled fondly, shaking her head. "I'll make it up to you when I'm done," Koschei grinned, briskly pressing his lips against hers before shutting the door as he retreated into his room.

Having attempted her mission, Oliviana walked back down the hall toward the stairway. She had only come to brief Koschei on the headway she was achieving with Lady Oakdown's lessons in telepathic communication. While Oliviana had learned the fundamentals of extrasensory perception at the Academy, she wished to become proficient at the art, and it just so happened that Lady Oakdown was incredibly talented with telepathy and psychometrics.

Joining Lady Oakdown on the shaded veranda once more, Oliviana inhaled the sweet spring air and smiled at the warmth of the bright sun.

"And how did he react?" Lady Oakdown inquired with a playful smirk on her lips. Oliviana opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted. "No, use your mind to tell me."

Furrowing her eyebrows in concentration, Oliviana focused on relaying her thoughts to Lady Oakdown. While it didn't take hours as it had the previous lesson, it nevertheless took her a while. Finally, Lady Oakdown chuckled as she witnessed her son's antics. "What could he conceivably be working on this time?" she mused.

Oliviana shrugged. "Couldn't say; it genuinely could be anything when it comes to his experiments."

Lady Oakdown agreed and wrote a brief report on Oliviana's progress in her notes. She flipped the page, scanning it briefly with her weight blue eyes, before addressing her pupil once more. "I want you to try something moderately more difficult now. You can do short-term recall, which is what you just showed me, relatively effortlessly because the memory is recent in your mind. You are aware, then, that the next stage is to convey emotions in the company of images and sounds. I want you to re-convey to me the prior memory, but this time, involve your emotional reactions."

Oliviana reddened at the notion of revealing the intimate emotions she felt for Koschei to none other than his mother, but she knew that the Time Lay anticipated it anyway.

Not having to concentrate or struggle as much on the task, Oliviana felt it much easier to communicate telepathically when she incorporated her emotions.

Lady Oakdown beamed, both at how well her pupil was doing, and also at the warm feelings of the memory. "Very well done, Oliviana! Now, for your last exercise of today, I want you to show me a memory from your past that will astonish me."

Oliviana paled and Lady Oliviana quickly added, "A happy memory will do. But still, _astonish_ me."

_It was the night of the graduation ball. Inside the stately manor, newly graduated Time Lords and Ladies danced and laughed, reveling in the final time their class would be together under one roof._

_Oliviana and Koschei, however, were sitting outside the manor in a secluded part of the garden, perched on a stone bench alongside an ostentatious fountain that glistened under the light of the moon above._

_Koschei caressed Oliviana's hand as he gazed adoringly into her eyes. "What if we tell your mother how we feel?" he murmured sweetly._

_Oliviana shook her head. Her mother was under a lot of pressure from Lord Everton lately and Oliviana wasn't sure how much longer her mother's mental state would hold up. "What if we tell your parents first?"_

_"__You know my father has already denied giving me consent to select my wife," he replied dejectedly. Oliviana's head bowed and her shoulders sunk. "Please don't be upset, Liviana," Koschei breathed raggedly, drawing her into his embrace completely. "This just means that we will have to get… creative."_

_She furrowed her eyebrows and peered up at him. "Creative?"_

_Koschei paused in contemplation for a moment. Without warning, his face lit up with animation. "Let's run away and have someone from one of the colonies to wed us. We can return to Gallifrey once the war is over and our parents are no longer infuriated with us."_

_Oliviana pressed her lips against his passionately, adrenaline pumping through her veins at the plan. "That better not be your way of proposing to me, Master," she teased._

_Koschei lowered himself before her, taking her hands into his. "Lady Oliviana, heiress to the House of Everton, and my Lady Duchess, for you I would do anything. I would rage a war across all of time and space, never ceasing, never questioning, if you asked me to do so. I would burn civilizations, implode galaxies, and tear apart the very fabric of the universe just to keep you by my side. You're the one who not only can hear the drums, but you want to hear them, just because it eases my pain. You gave me the title, 'Master,' and with it, you gave me my life's purpose. You told me once that I was too special to bow down to anyone, yet that's not entirely true; I will always bow down to you. Liviana, will you let me conquer the stars for you? Will you stand by my side, not only as my Duchess, but, more importantly, as my wife?"_

_Taken aback by his unrestrained sentimentality, tears welled in Oliviana's eyes as her chest constricted. "Yes," she cried in elation, "Yes!"_

_Koschei sat next to Oliviana once more and cupped her face in both of his hands, brushing away at the tears with his thumbs. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked, his eyes searching hers for any hint of reservation._

_Forsaking any verbal response, Oliviana's hands firmly wrapped around Koschei's neck and pulled her body into his, heatedly pressing their lips together. "I want to leave tonight," she breathed heavily, yearning for the time when they could be alone together._

_Koschei's hearts thundered in his chest at the suggestion. "Let's go to our manors, pack what we need, and we can meet up in the special place in your forest. I'll bring my father's TARDIS."_

Oliviana struggled to end the memory after Koschei's proposal, unwilling for Koschei's mother to witness the passionate embrace, but she was too caught up in reliving the memory that she was unable to.

Lady Oakdown was indeed stunned. She had no idea that was the reason for the fallout that occurred when Koschei entered the manor that night and had come face to face with Rysra's parents.


	8. Two Engagements and a Break Up

_Forsaking any verbal response, Oliviana's hands firmly wrapped around Koschei's neck and pulled her body into his, heatedly pressing their lips together. "I want to leave tonight," she breathed heavily, yearning for the time when they could be alone together._

_Koschei's hearts thundered in his chest at the suggestion. "Let's go to our manors, pack what we need, and we can meet up in the special place in your forest. I'll bring my father's TARDIS."_

* * *

><p><em>Lord Oakdown studied Lord and Lady Everton through narrowed eyes. Lady Oakdown offered the couple a gentle smile, apologizing for her husband's abrasive manner. "I am offended that you would suggest such an arrangement, Lord Everton," Lord Oakdown sneered, standing up to usher the Everton's out of the library.<em>

_Lord Everton stood up, pulling Lady Everton with him by the arm. "I was led to believe by my wife that such an offer might not be rejected."_

_Lady Everton looked down, avoiding the glares coming from both her husband and Lord Oakdown. "I must have been mistaken. I thought there was something between Koschei and Oliviana, but I know now that I was wrong."_

_Lady Oakdown sighed, disliking the hostile atmosphere. Turning to her husband she said, "Surely, since Koschei isn't yet in a marriage arrangement, we could at least consider their offer to wed the two. The House of Everton is, after all, one of the best families."_

_"__I am not saying that it is not; don't misunderstand my rejection for insult," Lord Oakdown clarified. "I am offended that they thought that we wouldn't have secured an arrangement by the time our son graduated."_

_"__But Koschei isn't arranged," Lady Oakdown protested, confused. _

_Lord Oakdown rolled his eyes. "I arranged a marriage alliance this morning during the graduation ceremony. I was going to announce it to you and Koschei tonight when he returned home."_

_Lady Everton bowed her head. "We are deeply sorry for our intrusion, then."_

_Lady Oakdown placed a hand on Lady Everton's arm in comfort. "Don't apologize, you had no way of knowing. I didn't even know and I'm his wife and Koschei's mother."_

_Lord Everton cleared his throat and buttoned his jacket. "Very well, I think it's time to return home before Oliviana gets back."_

_Lord and Lady Everton promptly departed the Oakdown estate. As they walked through the fields of red grass toward their estate, deciding to walk instead of take their air car since it was such a beautiful night, they encountered Lord and Lady Lungbarrow._

_"__Lord and Lady Everton, it's such a pleasant sight to see you both!" Lord Lungbarrow greeted jovially, his lips twisting upward in a large grin. Lord and Lady Everton greeted him, albeit in a less jovial manner._

_Lady Lungbarrow noticed their forlorn expressions. "What is the matter?"_

_Lady Everton started to reply, but was cut off by her husband. "We were just offering a marriage alliance to the House of Oakdown but we were rejected."_

_Lady Everton glared at him, embarrassed that he would say such a thing to another prominent House. _

_Lord Lungbarrow's expression did the impossible and grew even more excited and pleased. "That is grand news indeed!"_

_Lord Everton gaped at him. "I beg your pardon Lungbarrow?"_

_Lady Lungbarrow apologized for her husband's outburst. "He gets ahead of himself sometimes. See, we have just visited your manor and were told by one of the servants that we would find you both along this path. We have an offer to make you."_

_Lord Lungbarrow took over, "We would like to offer you a marriage alliance between Oliviana and Theta Sigma."_

_Lady Everton looked at her husband, searching his face for a reaction. "That is very gracious of them, isn't it?" she prompted, hoping he would accept the offer, just so they could settle this matter once and for all._

_Lord Everton pondered the offer for a moment. "Yes, it is," he said slowly. "We accept."_

* * *

><p><em>Lord Oakdown squared his shoulders and stared at the manor's main entry door as Koschei returned home from the graduation ball. Behind him stood Lady Oakdown, accompanied by Lord and Lady Tinslety, Rysra's parents.<em>

_Koschei was startled by the scene in front of him. "What are they doing here, father?" he asked slowly, dreading the answer he would receive._

_"__We have secured a prestigious marriage alliance with the House of Tinslety."_

_Koschei shook his head to clear the throbbing pain from the drumming that was increasing. "That's not possible."_

_Lord Oakdown chuckled menacingly. "And why is that?"_

_Koschei decided he didn't care anymore about keeping his relationship with Oliviana a secret. "Because I proposed to Oliviana at the graduation ball and we are leaving Gallifrey tonight to be married."_

_Before Lord Oakdown could respond, Lord Tinslety laughed. Everyone turned to look at him with bewilderment. Lord Tinslety sobered moderately, but his merry countenance still remained. "We ran into Lord and Lady Lungbarrow on the way here, and you wouldn't believe what they told us. The House of Lungbarrow and the House of Everton have made a marriage alliance between Theta Sigma and Oliviana!"_

_Koschei's jaw clenched and his teeth ground together. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins as anger began clouding his vision. "That's not possible, she is engaged to me."_

_Lord Oakdown sighed exasperatedly and grabbed his son's shoulders. "You are engaged to Rysra. There is no way for you to undo this contract unless you appeal to the High Council, and even then they aren't likely to listen to a newly-graduated Time Lord. They are your future employers and you would only embarrass yourself, not to mention the family as well."_

_Koschei pushed his father away, retreating hastily up the stairs toward his room, slamming the door for dramatic effect._

_Lord Tinslety snorted with amusement. "I would say that went rather well, don't you think, Lord Oakdown?"_

_"__Oh shut up," Lord Oakdown sneered, stalking off to another part of the house in anger._

* * *

><p><em>Oliviana fled home as fast as she could, eager to begin packing. The faster she completed her task, the faster she could be in the arms of her fiancé once more. <em>

_As she walked into the manor, her mother and father approached her. "Darling, we have some news to tell you, and I think you should sit down to hear it," Lady Everton coaxed, leading Oliviana to a sofa along the wall._

_"__Your father and I visited the Lord and Lady Oakdown earlier tonight to offer them a marriage alliance between you and Koschei," Lady Everton explained softly. _

_At once, Oliviana's face brightened and she threw her arms around her mother in gratitude. "Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, happy that for once things were falling into place. Maybe she and Koschei could have a proper Gallifreyan wedding on Gallifrey, surrounded by their family and friends. _

_"__Hold on, I'm not done, Oliviana," her mother replied sternly. "They rejected our offer."_

_Oliviana crumpled onto her mother's lap. Lord Everton sighed and left the room, unwilling to deal with feminine hysterics, as he was prone to call any show of emotion coming from a female. _

_Lady Everton hushed her daughter and stroked her hair in consolation. She knew it wouldn't help her child's heartbreak, but it was the best she could do. Lady Everton had only just gotten over the shock of finding out that the House of Oakdown and the House of Tinslety had entered into a marriage alliance. "We secured another marriage alliance, though."_

_Oliviana raised herself off her mother's lap, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I don't want to marry anyone else," she sniffled pathetically. "I was supposed to be Koschei's."_

_"__Your father will explain the specifics with you later when you calm down, but all you need to know now is that you are officially engaged to Theta Sigma."_

_"__I'm supposed to marry Koschei's best friend? I can't do that; don't make me do that!" Oliviana exclaimed, throwing herself once more onto her mother's knees, weeping with grief-stricken despair._

_Lady Everton scooped Oliviana's body off her knees and searched her daughter's emerald eyes for understanding. "I've been sufficiently considerate with you on the subject of marriage alliances, Oliviana. Please be more mature and accept that this is not your decision to make."_


	9. Escape from Gallifrey

"I can hear you skulking outside of my door, Oliviana," Koschei called from inside his room.

Oliviana chuckled and knocked on the door. "Then why don't you let me in?"

As always happened before she was granted entry to the room, there was a flurried rustling of parchment and clinking of metal gadgets and devices. She didn't have to wait long before he opened the door for her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her in, swiftly shutting the door behind her.

"Aw, Master, you cleaned up for me," Oliviana said wryly, observing the catastrophic mess that was his room. There was parchment scattered everywhere, and in the few places that were parchment-free, were pieces of devices and technological objects that Oliviana couldn't discern the identity of purpose of.

Koschei grinned, obviously pleased with his experiments laying all over the floor. "I have something to show you."

Oliviana raised her hand. "Wait," she interrupted, "I have something to show you first." Grabbing onto one of his hands, Oliviana closed her eyes in concentration and sent him a memory telepathically.

Seeing the memory of their gift exchange during the Feast of Omega, Koschei smirked roguishly. "I see you've improved your extrasensory communication greatly, Duchess."

"I promised you I would, didn't I?" she countered happily. Crossing the room, she draped herself across his bed. "Now what did you want to show me?"

Normally, Koschei would have joined her on the bed with the purpose of engaging in less than decent activities, but this time, Koschei retrieved a complicated-looking object from his desk and brought it to Oliviana.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, placing it in her hands. The metal felt smooth and cool to the touch as Oliviana turned it over in her hands, trying to guess what it was. Finally, she gave up.

Koschei sat next to her on the bed, taking the device back into his hands. "It's a Glitch Generator."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she questioned him, "There's no such thing as a Glitch Generator."

"Not until today there wasn't," he gloated, his chest puffing out slightly with pride. "This will ensure our protection when the time comes."

Oliviana reclined onto the array of velvety pillows behind her, pulling Koschei down with her. He chuckled and put an arm around her back, pulling her into his chest. "You still haven't told me the plans yet."

He sighed and ran a hand across his face. "There's a chance my mother will be able to read it from your mind, that's why I wrote it down and told you not to open it until the last possible moment," he explained. He wasn't worried that Lady Oakdown would be able to read it from his mind because he was very skilled at blocking unwelcome telepathic advances; Oliviana was still learning.

"When will we be able to leave?" Oliviana asked in a softer voice. "Every day there's more and more political uncertainty and I'm afraid we won't be able to get out before it's too late. I heard that the Dalek forces are beginning to gather."

Koschei kissed her forehead. "I know, that's why we're getting out of Gallifrey tonight."

Oliviana sat up in alarm. "Tonight?!" she exclaimed, hardly believing the time had already come. She thought he would have at least given her more warning.

"Tonight," he confirmed unnerved, remaining on the plush pillows. "Pack whatever you need, take the parchment I gave you, but do not open it, and for Gallifrey's sake, do not project your thoughts unless they are about silly things."

Oliviana rolled her eyes. "I'm not a simpleton; of course I will protect my thoughts."

"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm going to take my father's TARDIS on a test run, but meet me back here in an hour and we'll be ready to go."

* * *

><p>The hour seemed to fly by, and in what seemed like no time at all, Oliviana stood in Koschei's room once more, bag in hand, waiting for him to return with the TARDIS. She nervously twisted the ring around her finger as she kept all thoughts from her mind.<p>

Silently, the TARDIS materialized and Koschei stepped out, his clothing hanging in tatters from his body, dirt smudged across his face and hands. "Don't ask," he muttered, quickly changing into different clothes.

"Wasn't planning on it," she replied in the same tone as she entered the TARDIS.

Lord Oaksdown's TARDIS was one of the more beautiful ones she had ever been inside of. The walls were a dark brown with circular roundels that were made of a plasmic lining that reflected whatever was outside of the TARDIS. The ceiling of the TARDIS also had the same plasmic lining. There were many levels accessible by winding stairs that led to the console a few stories above the ground floor.

"I did some minor adjustments to the roundels," Koschei mused, coming up from behind her. "I figured he wouldn't mind, seeing as he won't get the TARDIS back for a very long time."

Oliviana followed Koschei up a flight of stairs to the console. "I see you did some adjustments to the helmic regulator as well."

Koschei grinned and threw an arm around her. "I'm very pleased you noticed," he said as he dematerialized the TARDIS, flying them into the Time Vortex.

Oliviana laughed. "Of course I noticed. Thandel taught me a thing or two about TARDISes, you know."

Koschei grinned and flipped on the automatic drift control, allowing the TARDIS to safely drift in the vortex indefinitely. He turned to Oliviana and sat them down on the benches near the railings. "Now that we're away from Gallifrey, I suppose I can tell you the plan now."

"No need," Oliviana countered, pulling the parchment from her jacket and unfolding it for the first time, smoothing out the wrinkles gently. "We're going to the Earth in the year 1482," she read. "Whatever for?"

Koschei walked over to the console and pointed to the Glitch Generator. "We're going to use the Glitch Generator to place a Time Glitch on the year 1482 in order to prevent advanced TARDISes from entering the year where we will be until it's safe to return home."

"Koschei, there are TARDISes that are not advanced too, you know. Theta's for example isn't advanced by any definition of the word."

Koschei entered the coordinates into the navigation unit. The time rotor began to rise and fall rapidly, plunging them through the Time Vortex. "I received intelligence today that there was going to be a Dalek-led attack against Gallifrey tonight; that's why we left so suddenly. By the time anyone notices we're gone, all advanced TARDISes will be converted to War TARDISES and all non-advanced TARDISes will either be hidden by their owners or destroyed by the Daleks."

Oliviana inhaled slowly and closed her eyes, trying not to think about her mother being abandoned on the planet. Lady Everton would have wanted her to escape, she was sure of it. "What will we do once we're on Earth? We still will be under the control of the High Council if they impose the draft."

Koschei smirked darkly as his eyes flicked to the side of the console. Suspended mid-air was the Chameleon Arch. "Oh, that's _brilliant_," Oliviana breathed, moving next to Koschei by the console. "We're going to turn ourselves into humans so the draft doesn't reach us. We'll then lock ourselves into the year with the Time Glitch so other Time Lords don't get to us in case they figure out where we are."

He kissed her lips briefly. "I knew you were intelligent when you put your mind to it," he teased, making her laugh.

"Wait," she said, sobering up quickly. "How will we know when to return to Gallifrey? If no one knows where we are and no one can get to us, how will we know when to open the fob watch without someone telling us to?"

Koschei averted his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Duchess, I've got it all worked out. All you need to think about is how peaceful our lives will be in the year 1482."

"1482," Oliviana repeated, "here we come."


	10. Duchess of Burgundy

The Time Vortex whirled past the windows, which were really just modified plasmic shells, reflecting what was outside, inside. Having given up on trying to whittle more information from Koschei, Oliviana had retired to her private suite in the TARDIS in order to dress in a style more appropriate for the Earth year 1482.

The TARDIS was accommodating to the young Time Lady, to be fair; the wardrobe's doors opened wide to reveal that the wardrobe is bigger on the inside than the outside, as was the norm for objects with dimensional transcendentiality. Oliviana wandered through the rows of exquisite garments, organized by planet, then by historical era, until she found the right row of clothes.

She brushed her hand across a silky gown the color of cooled charcoal and she considered pulling it off the rack, stopping mid-action as she spotted a garnet-colored gown lined with ermine; she pulled the garnet gown off the rack instead, gravitating toward the color of her Prydonian chapter on Gallifrey. While no one on Earth would realize the significance of the color, and neither would she or Koschei after they used the Chameleon Arch, she decided it was only right to wear the color for one last time.

The gown felt like the softest velvet. Noticing the deep v-neckline of the gown, Oliviana rummaged through the racks until she found a golden undergown to wear under the top gown. Excitedly, Oliviana pulled off her current clothing and pulled a soft chemise over her head, followed by the undergown, and finally the garnet gown.

Moving to a different section of the wardrobe, Oliviana gazed among the thousands, possibly _millions_, of glittering jewels. She picked up a thin belt made of the darkest sapphires she had ever seen, and fastened it high around her waist. She gathered more pieces of jewelry that matched, and walked over to a mirror to finish getting ready.

Oliviana gathered her long brunette hair into a simple half-up hairstyle and fastened it with one of the jeweled clips. Next, she fastened the small jewel clips randomly throughout her hair. She put simple jeweled earrings in her hair and fastened a jeweled bracelet around her left wrist.

As she did this, she had to give Koschei a little more credit- he had told her more of the plan; he just didn't tell her what she wanted to know. When she had packed to leave earlier, he had traveled to the place they would go to make arrangements with the family they would be staying with. He told her that he had made a deal with the family- he would give them all the jewels they could ever wish for in return for allowing them to join their family for a temporary period of time.

Realizing Koschei was holding out on her once again, Oliviana hounded him until he relented and revised his last statements. The family they would be staying with was royal; for a reason that Koschei would not disclose to her, the Duchess was missing and the family was in desperate need of a replacement, a female who happened to look exactly like the missing duchess.

And as luck would have it, Oliviana was the spitting image of the missing duchess.

No, she thought, it wasn't luck. It seems that one of the devices Koschei had put together years prior to their escape was a modified species detector.

Normal species detectors worked by seeing an image of a creature, matching the image against a database of known species, and then returning the identification of the species of the creature to the user.

Koschei told her that he called his modified device the Image Identifier and he used it on her without her knowledge before the Feast of Omega, before he had finalized their escape plans. He fed the device her image. The device matched her picture against a database of images of humans throughout all time.

He knew that with the billions and billions of humans that had ever, or will ever, exist on Earth, at least one had to match. And one did- Mary, the Duchess of Burgundy.

It was fitting that she would replace a duchess, seeing as she was the Duchess herself.

Oliviana had protested at first, but Koschei assured her that he found a way to be by her side when she was the Duchess of Burgundy, as her tutor. She was still so unsure of the entire plan, but Koschei assured her that promptly after she used the Chameleon Arch, he would use it right after her.

Koschei explained that he would program the Arch to allow him a short period of time to remember his Time Lord identity, just long enough to get them both out of the TARDIS and to the location where he had specified to the family that they would meet up. By the time the family arrived, Koschei would have already forgotten his Time Lord identity, reverting to the human identity he wrote for himself.

Oliviana played through the plan in her mind over and over again as she descended the staircase from the corridor her suite was located in to the main console room. Koschei stood next to the Chameleon Arch, dressed in fifteenth-century attire as well.

"You look beautiful, Duchess," he complimented, taking her hand and leading her to the device.

Oliviana inhaled deeply as he lowered it to her head and placed the wires on her face and other various parts of her body. "Promise nothing will come between us, Koschei," she said, letting out a shaky breath, fear in her hearts and her mind.

Koschei's eyes softened and he placed one hand to cup her cheek, the other hand gripping the controls. "I promise nothing will happen."

Oliviana nodded bravely. "Then do it."

Koschei set his jaw, turned away from Oliviana, and activated the Chameleon Arch.


	11. The Duke and the Duchess

The lullabies of the birds overhead were the first sounds to fill Mary's mind, rousing her from what felt like the deepest slumber of her life.

Gradually, she became more aware of her surroundings and she opened her eyes slowly. Based on the sounds of nature all around her, she had guessed she had fallen outside once again, exhausted from what was most likely a long afternoon spent exploring the countryside on horseback as she often did when the weather was peaceful.

While she realized she was in fact outside, when she opened her eyes, she also realized she wasn't alone. A man, who looked to be only a few years older than her, knelt by her side, clutching her hands in his. As she awakened, the man's lips stretched upward into a relieved smile.

"Here, let me help you sit up, Duchess," the man said, placing a hand on her back and raising her to a sitting position.

Mary blushed at the intimate contact. "Thank you, Maximilian," she thanked the man kneeling next to her.

Maximilian smiled wider, showing two rows of straight, white teeth, which was quite uncommon for the time. "You remember my name! Oh, that is _astonishing_," he breathed impressed.

Mary furrowed her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I remember your name?" she replied. "You are my husband after all, aren't you?"

Maximilian chuckled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into an affectionate embrace. "You gave us a fright when your horse threw you from it's back and you hit your head. We thought for certain your head would have suffered some lasting damage as a result."

Mary pulled back from the embrace, raising a hand to her head. "Now that you mention it, my head does feel rather foggy."

"I'll instruct your ladies in waiting to make sure you get proper rest," he replied, brushing hair away from her face, his finger circling around the dark sapphire jewels as he encountered them.

"How did you find me out here? We're no where near the castle," Mary wondered, looking around them. She saw only one horse and wondered where hers had gone.

Maximilian's gaze followed hers to the muscular black horse grazing on grass by the tree he was tied to. "A man saw you fall from the horse and hit your head," he explained. "Thankfully, he had enough decency to find me and tell me what happened."

Mary went quiet, a distressed feeling rising in her chest that she couldn't find reason for. "Where is this man? I would like to thank him."

Maximilian took her hands into his once more. "After he was sure you were safe with me once more, he went behind a cluster of trees and just _disappeared_."

"He just _left _me?" Mary exclaimed horrified.

"Mary, you are my wife, not his. Why is him leaving you alone such a ghastly concept to you?"

Mary looked into his eyes, searching for any explanation for her emotions. Why _was _she so horrified by the mystery man leaving her?

"I don't know, Maximilian," she whispered in distress. "I haven't the slightest idea why."


	12. Time Glitch

A/N: I don't own Doctor Who, and I obviously didn't write the dialogue of the episode I use :)

* * *

><p>The TARDIS sailed through the Time Vortex, rhythmically wheezing as per usual since the Doctor left the landing breaks on for the duration of the journey.<p>

"There we go. Perfect landing," the Doctor gloated, obviously pleased with himself. "Which isn't each in such a tight spot."

"You should be used to tight spots by now," Martha remarked. An excited grin slowly made its way to her face. "Where are we?"

"The end of the line," the Doctor replied, his voice dropping in pitch. Martha ran to the door in anticipation of what great adventure waited outside the TARDIS. "No place like it."

Martha exited the TARDIS, followed by the Doctor. She looked around, disappointed. She would knew those ugly second-hand orange curtains anywhere. "Home. You took me home?"

The Doctor nodded. "In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all really."

Martha became indignant as the Doctor avoided her by looking at a large picture frame. "But all the stuff we've done. Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?"

The Doctor turned back to Martha, replying as he looked around the cramped flat. "Yep, all in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry." Martha grabbed a piece of her laundry that the Doctor had picked up. "So, back where you were, as promised."

"This is it?"

The Doctor inhaled deeply. "Yeah, I should probably um…" he broke off, interrupted by the telephone ringing. The answering machine picked up the message.

"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?" a woman's voice said.

"It's Mum, it'll wait," Martha explained, dejection softening her tone.

The Doctor looked at Martha as her mother continued to talk on the answering machine. "Alright then, present that you're out if you like. I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV… On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested."

Martha turned on the television.

An elderly man was speaking to the press. "The detail are top secret."

Martha stared at the screen. "How could Tish end up on the news?" she wondered.

The elderly man on the screen continued talking. "Tonight I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world."

Martha talked over the television again. "She's got a new job. PR for some research lab."

The man on screen continued. "With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human."

Martha shut the television off as reporters called out to the elderly professor. "Sorry, you were saying we should?"

The Doctor pulled his thoughts from the man on the television. "Yes, yes we should. One trip is what we said."

Martha looked into the Doctor's eyes. "Yeah," she breathed. "I suppose things just kind of escalated."

The Doctor looked off into the room absently. "Mmm, seems to happen to me a lot."

Martha smiled fondly at the Doctor. "Thank you. For everything."

"It was my pleasure," the Doctor replied before entering the TARDIS. Within the span of a few seconds, the TARDIS dematerialized, leaving Martha standing alone in her flat.

—

The Doctor knew that he had to keep himself busy to avoid feeling the guilt of leaving another companion. At least this time, he hadn't messed a companion up permanently as he tended to do.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a long list of things he always had meant to take care of in the universe, but never actually got around to doing. Scanning through the list, he settled on one that was written in a different hand than his, probably one of his earlier regenerations.

_1482- potential Time Glitch_

The Doctor programmed the coordinates into the navigation system, overriding the safety mechanisms in order to penetrate the Time Glitch at the exact location it was set.

The TARDIS materialized and the Doctor stepped outside tentatively, unsure what he would encounter. The only living race that could engineer and use a Time Glitch was the Time Lords.

He licked his finger and held it up into the air. "1482, exactly one month after the Time Glitch," he mused, pleased with his ability. "I am _fantastic_ at tight spots today!" he exclaimed.

"Right, so how to go about this…" he said slowly, realizing he had no idea what he was possibly looking for. Checking his jacket to make sure he had his psychic paper and his sonic screwdriver, he set off in the direction of the forest, hoping to find some human along the way.

The Doctor had wandered through the forest for a few hours. He didn't cover much land at all, getting dragged into conversations with various woodland creatures. He learned from a particularly chatty squirrel that there was a castle a short distance to the north and that there was some type of commotion going on there.

The Doctor thanked the squirrel for the information and continued north, asking various animals along the way for more information about the castle and the commotion. He had learned that there was a Burgundian duchess suffering terribly from a horseback riding accident that left her with a broken spine. A hawk didn't think she would last through the next few nights.

In a stroke of compassion, the Doctor made his way into the castle, using the psychic paper to gain access to the Duchess's suites.

"Doctor, I really must protest, my wife is in no condition to be seeing any new physicians. She just wants to be left alone," the Duke pleaded with the Doctor as he pushed into the room.

"Oh, that's no matter, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor stated matter-of-factly. "I've got it all under control."

The Doctor crossed the dimly-lit room, stopping at the side of the large canopy bed upon which rested the fragile body of the Mary, the duchess of Burgundy. The Doctor sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, placing the back of his hand against her forehead. He turned to Maximilian, "I would like five minutes alone with the duchess."

Maximilian puffed his chest out in indignation. "Now I really must know who exactly you are," he demanded.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and showed him the psychic paper.

Macmillan's eyes widened in shock as he backed toward the door, hands upraised in submission. "Excuse me, Doctor, I had no idea you were here on a papal dispensation."

The Doctor nodded toward the door. Maximilian looked toward it and back to the Doctor rapidly. "Yes, of course," he said, exiting the room hastily.

The Doctor turned back to the young woman resting on the bed. He normally wasn't one to get involved with domestic situations such as this, especially when they had no trace of aliens, and especially _especially_ when he had something more important to be doing- such as finding the source of the Time Glitch.

Yet here he was, cupping the woman's cheeks, brushing his thumbs over her cold, smooth skin. He could have sworn she was familiar, but in the many centuries since he had run away from Gallifrey, he had seen so many faces that he couldn't be expected to remember each and every single one.

"If my husband saw the way you're holding my face, sir, I dare say he would be quite upset."

The Doctor was shocked out of trying to place her face by the woman's frail voice. Her eyes were open now, and they had a dimmed glimmer of mischief and wonder.

"Oh well," the Doctor stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, "I'm the Doctor. I'm actually the best doctor around, if I do say so myself."

Mary chuckled lightly, enjoying his confident demeanor. "You're the doctor who stopped the plague that devastated my people aren't you?"

The Doctor really had no clue what she was talking about, but nodded anyway. "I thought it only right to see to you in your time of need."

Mary smiled sadly. "I'm almost dead, I know that. But on behalf of my family and my people, I would like to thank you for all you have done. We are truly forever in your debt," she gushed, looking up at the Doctor through her thick, wet eyelashes.

"Oh no need to thank me, your Grace, I was only doing my duty as, well, the doctor," he replied, placing the bundle of garden flowers he had stolen from outside of her suite onto the bed next to her.

Mary turned toward the flowers and picked a bright pink one, meditating for a moment on its innocent beauty. The Doctor lifted her chin upwards, so that his eyes could look into hers. "Have I met you before, Mary?"

Mary smiled wistfully. "This is the first and last time I'll see you, I'm afraid, Doctor."

The Doctor frowned slightly and looked away from Mary. He couldn't count he many times he had been in this type of situation, a beautiful young woman on her death bed, yet something about this time felt so different. "I'm afraid you're right."

"In that case, I'd like to offer you a little gift to thank you properly for coming to the aid of my people," Mary said, retrieving a small object wrapped in a luxurious silk handkerchief hidden in a drawer beside her bed. She gently placed the object into the Doctor's hands.

"When I was out in the woods some time ago, I had found this object somewhere, I don't know where, but all I remember was that I had this when I awoke after my first horseback accident," Mary explained, fascinated by the way the Doctor's eyes watched her intently, grasping onto every word that came from her mouth.

"I don't know anything about the object, or even why I had it when I woke up. It doesn't mean much to me, but it's the only thing that seems right to give to you to thank you for everything you've done," Mary finished.

Encouraged, the Doctor began to unwrap the bundle with great dexterity. After what seemed like _ages_, the Doctor finally removed the last layer of the gift. He could only stare agape at the object in his hands.

"Mary, do you know what this is?" the Doctor asked, his voice rising in alarm.

Mary recoiled at the Doctor's sudden shift in emotion. If she had known his reaction would be negative, she would never have given him a gift. "It's just some sort of metal thing they found on me. I haven't got the slightest idea what it could possibly be. It's _nothing_."

"Mary, this isn't nothing. This is _everything_," the Doctor replied, holding the metal object closer to her face, in hopes that she would recognize it.

Mary wrinkled her forehead, her thoughts clouding. "I don't understand, Doctor. You're talking in riddles, I'm quite sure of it."

The Doctor's expression suddenly shifted from desperation to excitement, confusing Mary even further. "You're miraculous, you know that right? No, not miraculous, you're an anomaly, an amazing anomaly."

"I still don't understand. Why are you mocking me in this way?" Mary inquired. She thought the man in front of her was so much more before, but now it seemed that he was not all there in the brain.

The Doctor took Mary's hand into his empty one. Mary tried to pull her hand away, but it was to no avail. "Unhand me this instant, Doctor."

"Not until you hold this in your hands. I want to test something," the Doctor implored softly, placing the object into her bare hands. Mary couldn't remember the last time she had ever touched it with bare hands. She doubted that she had ever, honestly.

The moment the object touched her skin, it started to grow warm and glow. "What's happening, Doctor?"

The Doctor was entranced; he had waited for something like this to happen for what seemed like his entire life. "I'm not alone," he breathed, watching as the metal object glowed brighter by every second.

"What do I do?" Mary panicked.

"Open it, Mary. Open it and see yourself."

Mary was going to protest, but then she heard it. The murkiness in her head grew quieter as whispers began to fill her mind. She knew she should be frightened, but in that moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity and purpose.

She opened the object and a golden light flooded her vision.

Never before had Mary felt so strong, so powerful, like she could do anything in the entire world.

But no, the entire world didn't seem to hold enough possible adventures to quench her thirst. She wanted more than what the _world_ had to offer her.

And finally, she knew everything. Mary raised her head, emboldened by a newfound confidence that only came from knowing oneself completely.

"Mary, are you alright?" the Doctor asked tentatively.

Mary looked at him curiously, as if she was seeing him for the first time in a long time. As if he was no longer just a man who helped her people in their time of need, but something more than that. And now she _knew_ he was so much more than just a man.

He was the _Doctor_.

"I know who I am now, Doctor," she stated, her face devoid of emotion. The Doctor wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"Mary, do you remember who you are?"

Mary stared harder at the Doctor. "Mary, that's such a boring name. Don't call me that anymore, please."

The Doctor took a slow, deep breath. "What should I call you then?"

The Time Lady in front of him smiled and her face lit up in a way that the Doctor had seen somewhere before, somewhere in his ancient past.

"Oliviana."

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat; he had thought his former fiancee had died in the Time War by the side of the Master.

The Doctor bowed in reverence of the Time Lady on the bed in front of him, "I'm glad to have you back, Duchess."


	13. When Time Lady Met Companion

"Doctor, tell me your TARDIS is near," Oliviana groaned, clutching her head in pain.

The Doctor panicked and began speaking rapidly, babbling nonsense. Oliviana shot him a nasty look and he took a deep breath to compose himself. "It's quite a long walk," he admitted, brushing his hand against his face in frustration.

Oliviana sighed and watched as her hands began to glow golden. "From what I can tell my spine is still severed at multiple points. I'm going to have to regenerate."

The Doctor was about to reply but was interrupted by a familiar wheezing sound; the TARDIS materialized on the other side of the bed. "Oh, you are an absolute _beauty!_" the Doctor exclaimed, laughing in ecstasy.

He turned to Oliviana. "May I?" he asked, motioning to her body. Knowing she wouldn't be able to make it into the TARDIS on her own, she allowed the Doctor to pick her up and carry her into the ship.

"Put me down," Oliviana gasped. A burning sensation ripped through her veins, making her skin glow even brighter with regeneration energy. The burning sensation wasn't painful, just different.

The Doctor stepped away from Oliviana and fiddled with the console, propelling them deep into the Time Vortex. "Don't break anything," he half-joked, not wanting to deal with yet another destroyed TARDIS.

Oliviana gave him an indignant look and rolled her eyes. "I'm not a fool, Doctor," she replied, bracing herself for what was about to come.

The Doctor nodded and took shelter behind the console as Oliviana's regeneration energy shot out in full force. She didn't scream or call out for help, she simply let it happen in silence. He wondered what kind of Time Lady she would be this time.

Oliviana collapsed onto the floor unconscious when the initial phase of the regeneration process stopped.

The Doctor tentatively approached her and knelt down to pick her off the floor. He didn't have to exert much energy to lift her into his arms and bring her into the zero room to complete her regeneration in peace. Realizing it was her first regeneration, the Doctor decided that a stay in the zero room to ward off any regeneration sickness would be a good idea for her.

He placed her onto a resting table in the center of the white room and shut the door as he went back out to the console room.

He was once again alone with his thoughts. He thought over the past day in depth, before something occurred to him. Hastily, he pounded coordinates into the TARDIS. After a short time he materialized and opened the door to face Martha in her flat.

"No, I'm sorry," the Doctor said, startling Martha. "Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"

* * *

><p>Oliviana was mad.<p>

No, mad didn't quite cover it; she was _furious_.

Not only had the Doctor left her by herself in the TARDIS while he was off doing _who knows what_, but he had left her to discover her new form by herself. No woman, no matter the species, wants to evaluate her looks by herself.

The first thing she had done when she woke up was to run her hands down her body to make sure her curves were still there. And as luck would have it, they _weren't_. That was the first thing to go wrong for her.

Oliviana cursed at her willowy frame that looked like it would blow over in the wind; her previous body, while it was still quite petite, at least had some meat to it. This one was just bones. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that her bones didn't shatter as she ran through the TARDIS to locate a room of her own.

The TARDIS directed her toward one and she entered quickly, too focused on finding a mirror to notice her room's surroundings. The TARDIS must be a girl, she thought as she found an entire wall made of mirrors and stationed herself in front, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for more unpleasant discoveries.

And she wasn't disappointed on that front.

Oliviana thought she looked like the exact opposite of her last self, and that really angered her. She used to get compliments on her voluminous chocolate ringlets, but now she wouldn't get any compliments on the pale blonde hair that hung limply down her back as if it had just _given up_ on life and decided to roll over and die.

Her skin, which used to glow with color, was now alabaster with no freckles or birthmarks to break up the bright whiteness of her skin. It was so _boring_.

"Oh my lord, what is _this?_" she exclaimed, bringing here face closer to the mirror in inspection of her eyes. Continuing on with the theme of the day, her eyes were even devoid of vivid color, having changed to a slate gray instead. "_Lovely._"

Oliviana supposed the only redemption was the delicacy of her other features, which matched the rest of her new petite body. Her nose was small and upturned, her lips were thin and colorless, and her ears were, as could be guessed, _tiny._ Her hands, fingers, legs, and every other part of her were also insignificantly small and sinewy. And to top it all off, her cheeks, stretched over high cheekbones, were sunken.

All in all, she looked like a corpse, albeit a pretty one, but a corpse nonetheless.

Figuring that the Doctor wouldn't be away from the TARDIS for too long, Oliviana entered the wardrobe and dressed in a large baby blue sweater and a pair of dark jeans tucked into black boots. She looked into another mirror and put on some makeup, trying in vain to liven her appearance up by even the tiniest bit.

Oliviana knew she was just distracting herself with her appearance so that she wouldn't think about how Koschei lied to her and abandoned her on Earth. She had thought he respected her more than that, but obviously she was wrong and now she had to figure out how he fit into her life from now on.

That is, if he was still alive. Oliviana hadn't really seen the Doctor long enough to interrogate him about Gallifrey and the fate of her family, friends, and her Master, but that was most definitely the first thing she intended to do the _second_ he entered the TARDIS once again.

Perhaps any other Time Lady would have left the TARDIS in search of the Doctor, unwilling to wait around for a Time Lord to return when they could just find him, but that wasn't Oliviana's style, never had been and probably never would be, she thought.

No, Oliviana knew she was two things above all: dramatic and unwilling to exert herself when she could wait for what she wants to come to her by itself, and that's exactly what she planned to do this time.

Finding the library, Oliviana selected a particularly large book on quantum excitronics that was _just_ out of her comprehension level so that she would actually have to pay attention to it instead of thinking about things she couldn't quite think about yet. Like the Master.

Before he had abandoned her, Oliviana loved calling him by his name, Koscei. Koschei would have never left her alone, but she wouldn't put that kind of behavior past the Master. Koschei had slowly become a little more eccentric than when she first met him, but he had never been cruel.

If he was still alive, Oliviana couldn't call him Koschei anymore; it was the Master who left her, not Koschei. Her Koschei loved her; the Master, well, who knows how he feels?

Oliviana shook her head and squinted back down at book pages before sighing, closing the book, and bringing it out of the library to the console room to continue reading as she waited for the Doctor.

As she reached a particularly interesting chapter on biodata matrices, the TARDIS doors opened, revealing the Doctor and a human.

Oliviana raised her eyebrows as she stood, placing the book on the console. "Who's she?"

The human woman raised her eyebrows in return and looked at the Doctor for answers.

The Doctor became flustered under the stares of both women. "Martha, this is," he paused as he gestured toward Oliviana in introduction; he knew he couldn't introduce Oliviana as Oliviana because that was her name and only Time Lords and Ladies were supposed to know each other's names. "This is the Duchess."

Oliviana smiled down at Martha from the platform she was standing on and extended a hand to her. "Charmed to meet you, Martha," Oliviana said in her new breathy voice.

Martha's lips turned up in an awkward smile. "The Doctor didn't tell me he had a new companion."

Oliviana retracted her hand from Martha's grip and turned her gaze on the Doctor who played with the console, clearly uncomfortable with the entire interaction. "He didn't? Well, that's certainly quite rude of him, isn't it Doctor?"

The Doctor raised his hands in defense. "I didn't expect to be taking Martha back into the TARDIS!"

Martha rolled her eyes fondly. "Yet here I am, so I'm glad that we've been introduced, Duchess."

Oliviana nodded in return and turned to the Doctor as Martha went off to another part of the TARDIS, probably in search of her room. "So, Doctor, we need to talk," she drawled, turning to a screen.

The Doctor's eyes searched the area for a quick escape, not wanting to have this conversation now. "I don't know what you would like to talk about," he avoided.

Oliviana narrowed her eyes predatorily and moved closer to him. "You know exactly what I want to talk about. What happened in the war?"

The Doctor gulped. "Oh Martha!" he yelled, seeing her walk back into the room. "How would you like Universal roaming?"


	14. 42: Part I

**A/N:** This part of the story is going to follow the episodes through to the Last of the Time Lords. I will follow it closely, but I am also going to change some things. There is a method to my madness, I promise. Also, I've seen more than a few stories from multiple authors put dialogue in Gallifreyan in italics, and I like it, so I'm going to start doing that too, but I'll label it as well to prevent confusion with any flashbacks.

* * *

><p>"Martha, how would you like Universal roaming?"<p>

Oliviana shot the Doctor a nasty look for avoiding the conversation they would inevitable have in the near future. Very near future, if Oliviana had her way, which she knew she always would in the end.

"Uh, sure!" Martha replied unsurely as she handed the Doctor her mobile.

"You might want to make sure he doesn't break it," Oliviana teased, turning back to the navigation screen, analyzing the Gallifreyan text on it.

"Doctor, I swear if you break my mobile," Martha warned.

The Doctor finished using his sonic screwdriver and handed the mobile back to Martha. "Right, there we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again."

Oliviana rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the screen in concentration.

"No way. This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?" Martha asked, clearly astounded.

Oliviana shot Martha an indignant look. "What else could Universal roaming _possibly _mean?"

"Duchess," the Doctor warned, not wanting his companion and the only other Time Lady in the universe to be at odds with each other in side of his TARDIS. He turned back to Martha when Oliviana rolled her eyes at him once more. "As long s you know the area code. Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it."

An alert popped up on the screen. "Doctor," Oliviana called urgently, reading the message. "Distress signal!"

The Doctor flung his foot onto the console, to do what, Oliviana had no clue.. "Locking on. Might be a bit of," he was interrupted by the TARDIS jerking viciously, throwing them all to the floor, "turbulence."

Oliviana's mouth hung agape. "How in the _hell_ did you manage to pass your flier's test?"

The Doctor looked away sheepishly. "Sorry," he replied. "Come on, Martha, Duchess. Let's take a look."

Oliviana pulled herself up and pointed to the navigation screen. "Doctor, we really should check our surroundings first before we go gallivanting out of the TARDIS with no clue about the environment around us."

"When did you get to be so _boring_?" the Doctor retorted, a sly grin on his face. Oliviana narrowed her eyes and followed him out of the TARDIS.

Before the door was fully open, a computerized loud speaker outside said, "Distress signal transmitted."

"Great, we're on a ship," Oliviana groaned, assuming the Doctor had got them into some kind of trouble.

The air around them was obscured by thick steam. The room was hot and it glowed red. "Whoa, now that is not," the Doctor observed.

"Automated distress signal transmitted," the ship said again.

"It's like a sauna in here!" Martha exclaimed, pulling off her jacket to reveal a red top.

Oliviana agreed and removed her sweater, preferring to remain in the thin top below it and her jeans. "I bet the venting systems are overworked."

The Doctor agreed, looking around. "Trying to cool down. Wherever it is we are. Well if you can't stand the heat-" he began, opening a bulkhead door and crossing it.

"Stay out of Area 30?" Oliviana finished ironically as two men and a woman frantically approached them.

"Oi! you two!" the younger man exclaimed, gesticulating wildly.

The woman did the same. "Get out of there!"

Oliviana crossed her arms, glaring the woman down, not noticing the younger man seal the door.

The woman turned to the Doctor. "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?"

"Are you the police?" the younger man asked, disregarding the woman's interrogation.

Oliviana smirked at him. "Yes."

The Doctor pulled a face and stepped in front of Oliviana. "Why would we be the police?"

"We got your distress signal," Martha explained.

Oliviana wandered around the area, looking around her. "Doctor," she said quietly, "ask the _humans_ where the engines are."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment and then faced the humans again. "If this is a ship, why can't we hear any engines?"

"It went dead four minutes ago," the woman replied plainly.

"Great," Oliviana stated sarcastically. This was _definitely_ not what she would rather be doing instead of finding information out from the Doctor.

The other man rolled his eyes. "So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering, Captain."

"Secure closure active," the computer warned.

"What?" the woman gasped.

"The ship's gone mad."

Oliviana snorted. "Yes, I'm sure this is the ship's fault."

The Doctor shot her another warning look as a second woman came running towards the group.

"Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked into area twenty-seven," the new woman panted as the last bulkhead slammed shut. "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor, she's the Duchess, and I'm Martha," Martha introduced, "Hello."

The computer rang out again. "Impact projection forty-two minutes, twenty-seven seconds."

"Is the computer always this helpful?" Oliviana asked, looking out of a porthole. "You're in trouble, you know that right?" she asked as she saw exactly what kind of impending doom lay in the future for the ship.

"We'll get out of this, I promise," the woman told the crew.

Martha noticed Oliviana whistle lowly as she looked out the porthole and joined her. "Doctor," Martha breathed.

The Doctor wasn't paying attention to them, though. "Forty-two minutes until what?" he asked the woman who was clearly in charge.

Oliviana was surprised at Martha's persistence as Martha growled and yelled to the Doctor. "Doctor! Look!"

"Forty-two minutes until we crash into the sun," the woman replied blankly.

"Well that's one way of putting it," Oliviana remarked, not at all in the mood to be dealing with this.

The Doctor ignored her. "How many crew members on board?"

"Seven including us."

"What kind of ship is this?" Oliviana asked.

"We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship spaceworthy," the older man responded.

Drawing her lips into a thin line, Oliviana turned to face the Doctor. "My bother taught me to never interfere with time. The Master manipulated time to create a Time Glitch for my sake. That's enough interference with time for me, thank you," she complained, snarkily.

Oliviana had had enough. All she wanted to do was go home, Time War or not. "I'll wait for you in the TARDIS and then you will take me home, immediately," she said, walking to the door to Area 30 that contained the TARDIS.

"What's she doing?"

No, don't!"

Ignoring the human protest, Oliviana opened the door and was knocked onto her back by the blast of heat from the room. The younger woman shut the door.

"_Oliviana!"_ the Doctor yelped, switching to Gallifreyan in surprise. "Are you alright?"

Oliviana shrugged off the Doctor's hands and raised herself off the ground. "I'm fine."

"My ship's in there!" he yelled at the crew.

"In the vent chamber?" the younger man asked.

"If Area 30 is the vent chamber, then yes, obviously," Oliviana retorted moodily.

"It's our lifeboat," the Doctor apologized for her snarky attitude.

"It's lava."

Oliviana approached the older man who just replied, narrowing her eyes. "How does a nice win in lava sound to you?"

The woman who shut the door stood in front of the older man. "The temperature's going mad in there. Up three-thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"Channelling the air," the younger man added, "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

"We're stuck here," Martha breathed, horrified.

"I swear to whatever deity you humans hold holy," Oliviana growled, "that unless you find a way to reverse whatever the _hell_ you did to this ship, I will _personally_ make the remainder of your pitiful lives so much more worse than you could ever imagine."

"Don't mind her, she's a little touchy after regeneration, apparently," the Doctor brushed her threats off lightly.

"Same goes for you, Doctor," Oliviana retorted. "Now I suggest you think of some way to fix it so I can be on my way home."

The Doctor rubbed his hands together in thought. "So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple," he said. "Engineering down here, is it?"

The woman affirmed his assumption and led them into the engine room below.

"Aw, Doctor, they cleaned up for us," Oliviana sneered.

The Doctor observed the destroyed engine. "Blimey, do you always leave things in such a mess."

"What the hell happened?" the older man asked.

"Oh, it's wrecked," the younger man replied.

"Astute observation, Watson."

"Duchess, you're _really_ not helping," the Doctor yelled, reaching the end of his patience with her. "It's wrecked pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing."

The woman looked around. "Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"

"No."

"You mean someone did this on purpose?" Martha asked, surveying the engine.

Oliviana inhaled deeply to try to calm down as she stood next to Martha. "If I were to destroy an engine, and if I were a human, this is exactly how I would have done it. Minimum effort, maximum destruction."

"Korwin, Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer?" the woman called into the intercom. Getting no response, she gave up. "Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

The Doctor examined some of the equipment in the room that wasn't broken. "Oh, we're in the Torajii system."

Oliviana smiled for the first time after regeneration. "My mother once had a beautiful hair piece from the Torajii system. Lovely system," she said pleasantly, walking over to a table that contained the building instructions of the ship.

"You're a long way from home, Martha," the Doctor said, "Half a universe away."

Martha nodded her head. "Yeah. Feels it."

"Doctor, look at this," Oliviana called, holding a part of the instructions out to the Doctor.

The Doctor realized what she was referring to. "You're still using energy scoops for fusion? Hasn't that been outlawed yet?"

"We're due to upgrade next docking," the woman replied.

Oliviana raised her eyebrows, dropping the plans onto the desk. "I give up. This gets better by the second."

"Scannell, engine report."

The older man, Scannell, checked the engine. "No response."

"What?"

"They're burnt out," Scannell explained, "The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"Oh come on. Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliary engines," the Doctor exclaimed. The crew really should have been on it by now.

The woman pursed her lips. "We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"So?" Oliviana asked, annoyed once again with the situation and the crew. "What's stopping you from going there? I really have better things to be doing."

"There's twenty-nine password-sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time," Scannell groaned, exhausted.

Martha paced. "Can't you override the doors?"

Scannell shook his head. "No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all deadlock sealed."

"_Perfect_."

For once, the Doctor agreed with Oliviana's sentiment. "So a sonic screwdriver's no use."

"Nothing's any use," Scannell confirmed. "We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."

"Oh listen to you," the Doctor exclaimed irritated with them, "you sound just like the Duchess!"

"Oi!" Oliviana interjected.

The Doctor ignored her and continued. "Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?"

The younger man stepped forward. "They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them." He turned to Oliviana who was staring at him with eyebrows raised in apprehension. "Sorry, Riley Vashti," he said, introducing himself to Oliviana.

"Pleasure to meet you," she smirked. Riley's cheeks flushed.

The Doctor frowned at the exchange. "Then what are you waiting for, Riley Vashti? Get on it."

Riley's eyes flickered between Oliviana and the Doctor. "Well, it's a two person job."

"Of course it is," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

"One, a technician for the questions, and the other to carry this," Riley explained, pulling out the equipment. "The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

The woman, the captain, cocked her head at Riley. "Reliable and simple, just like you, eh Riley?"

Oliviana snorted with laughter. Maybe this _adventure _wouldn't be so boring after all.

"Try and be helpful, get abuse. _Nice_," Riley grimaced.

Martha grabbed some equipment from Riley, feeling bad for him. "I'll help you. Make myself useful."

"It's remotely-controlled by the computer panel. That's why it needs two," Riley explained, more to Oliviana than anyone else, hoping she would understand he wasn't trying to come on to her.

Unfortunately for him, Oliviana was no longer paying attention, staring instead off into space.

"Oi, be careful," the Doctor called out to Martha.

"You too," Martha replied.

The Doctor nodded and approached Oliviana. "_What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"_ he asked, slipping into Gallifreyan so the humans wouldn't be able to understand them.

Oliviana looked into his eyes and he could see her frustration. "_I just want to go home."_

The Doctor's throat constricted with guilt. "_Gallifrey isn't what you remember it as anymore._"

Oliviana was about to respond, but was interrupted by the intercom. "McDonnell, it's Ashton."

The captain, now identified as McDonnell, ran to the intercom. "Where are you? Is Korwin with you?"

"Get up to the Med-Center now!"

The Doctor, Oliviana, and McDonnell ran towards the med-center, passing Riley and Martha along the way.

"Impact in thirty-four, thirty-one."

* * *

><p>"Korwin! What's happened? Is he okay?" McDonnell asked frantically, running to Korwin's side. Koran was writhing on a slab in front of a stasis chamber.<p>

Oliviana stood back, uncomfortable once she sensed that Korwin and McDonnell were involved romantically. It reminded her of the past, something she wasn't ready to think about yet. Not when she wasn't sure about the status of so many things.

"How long's he been like this?" the Doctor asked, evaluating Korwin.

"Ashton just brought him in," the medic, Abi answered.

The Doctor scanned Korwin with his sonic screwdriver. "What are you doing?" McDonnell protested.

Oliviana stepped forward in case she had to restrain her. "Don't get to close," the Doctor warned McDonnell.

"Don't be so stupid," McDonnell exclaimed, getting closer despite the Doctor's warning. "That's my husband!"

"And he's just sabotaged our ship," Ashton responded, moving beside Oliviana.

"What?"

"He went mad," Ashton explained. "He put the ship onto secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls."

"No way, he wouldn't do that," McDonnell groaned.

Oliviana put a hand on her shoulder, sympathizing with the woman. "Sometimes, the people we love are overcome in a battle they couldn't possibly win, and they do things you never thought they would do before."

The Doctor gazed at Oliviana sadly, knowing she was talking about the Master. He was only just realizing how betrayed she must be feeling at the Master abandoning her on Earth.

McDonnell shook her head in denial. "No way. He wouldn't do that."

"I saw it happen, Captain," Ashton insisted.

The Doctor put his hands on Korwin's shoulders. "Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second."

Korwin continued to thrash. "I can't!"

"Yeah, course you can," the Doctor urged, "Go on."

"Don't make me look at you, please," Korwin begged.

"Doctor," Oliviana called, getting his attention to pass him a sedative gun from the medical tray near the stasis chamber.

"All right, all right, all right. Just relax," the Doctor coaxed Korwin before checking with Abi that the gun did in fact contain sedative before sedating Korwin.

"What's wrong with him?" McDonnell demanded, sitting beside Korwin, taking his hands into hers.

Oliviana glanced over the medical readings. "Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings, I could go on."

The Doctor gestured in front of him. "Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber," he mused before remembering this was not an appropriate moment for that. "Keep him sedated in there," he instructed more seriously, "Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bioscan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."

"Just doing them now," Abi responded.

Oliviana nodded with surprise. "Oh, you're good."

The Doctor agreed with her. "Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far."

"Well that's something," the Doctor replied with relief. One less thing he would have to deal with. The sooner this was over, the better.

"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" McDonnell cried, clutching Korwin's hands to her chest. Oliviana's hearts really did go out to the woman.

"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results," the Doctor explained, not at all comforting McDonnell. "Now, allons-y, back downstairs."

Oliviana helped McDonnell up. "See about those engines," she said sincerely to distract McDonnell from her husband's illness.

McDonnell and Ashton leave the med-center promptly. The Doctor turned to Abi. "Call us if there's any news. Any questions?"

Abi's face scrunched up indignantly. "Yeah. Who are you two?"

Oliviana grinned, pleased with the spiteful tone of the question. "So glad you asked," she responded with an amused lilt. "That's the Doctor and I'm the Duchess."

"Call us," the Doctor demanded one last time before pulling Oliviana out of the room toward the engine room once more.

"_Theta, can you please talk to me?"_ Oliviana begged the Doctor in Gallifreyan as they ran toward the other end of the ship to the engine room.

"_Now? You want to do this now?!"_ the Doctor exclaimed, looking back at her like she was insane.

"_I wouldn't have to do it now if you had just told me what happened earlier!"_ she shot back.

"_Gallifrey is gone, destroyed in the Time War_," the Doctor said sadly, as they came to a stop in front of the intercom in the engine room.

"_What?"_ Oliviana gaped, feeling her hearts twist painfully in fear for her family.

"_Look, this isn't the time_," the Doctor said, pressing the intercom. "Abi, how's Korwin doing?"

"You're impossible," Oliviana growled as she stalked in the opposite direction of the Doctor, only coming back to his side when she heard Martha's voice over the intercom.

"Three seven nine," both the Doctor and Oliviana yelled to Martha and Riley.

"What?" Martha exclaimed, obviously confused.

"It's a sequence of happy primes," the Doctor explained, "Three seven nine."

"Happy what?"

"Dear lord, Martha!" Oliviana yelled, "Just enter it!"

"Are you sure? We only get one chance," Riley asked hesitantly, not wanting to incur her wrath as well.

The Doctor sighed in frustration. "Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. A number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime. Now type it in!"

Oliviana scoffed. "I don't know, talk about dumbing it down for the humans!"

The Doctor furrowed his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't they teach recreational mathematics anymore?"

Oliviana shrugged. "Couldn't tell you."

"We're through!" Martha exclaimed.

"Keep moving, fast as you can," Oliviana replied, "I want to get out of here."

"And Martha, be careful," the Doctor added.

"There may be something else on board this ship," Oliviana threw in for good measure.

"Any time you want to unnerve me, feel free," Martha replied.

"Will do, with pleasure," Oliviana smiled, ending the conversation.

"Impact in thirty-fifty."

The Doctor and Oliviana hovered over the engine, examining it. "We need a back up in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time," she stated.

"Come on, think," the Doctor said, taking to himself mostly. "Resources, what have we got?"

"Doctor? Duchess?" Martha's voice rang over the intercom.

"What is it now?" Oliviana yelled angrily.

"Who had the most number ones, Elvis or the Beatles. That's pre-download."

The Doctor thought for a second. "Elvis."

Oliviana put a hand over the Doctor's mouth. "No! The Beatles!"

The Doctor pushed Oliviana away from him. "No, wait! Er, er, was that remix?" he asked Oliviana.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. It seemed this regeneration lacked patience.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Martha, I don't know. We are a bit busy."

"Fine. I'll ask someone else," Martha replied.

"Finally," Oliviana grumbled.

"Now, where was I?" the Doctor asked. "Here comes the sun."

Oliviana smacked him upside the head, focusing him. "No, resources."

The Doctor nodded, remembering. "So, the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that-"

McDonnell jumped in. "-use the generator to jumpstart the ship!"

The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Exactly!"

Oliviana shook her head. "At the very least, it'll but us some more time."

"That is brilliant," McDonnell stated, amazed.

"I know. See? Tiny glimmer of hope," the Doctor said more to Oliviana than anyone else. She rolled her eyes and looked back down to the ship's plans on the table.

"If it works," Scannell grumbled.

"Good man!" Oliviana said, pointing at Scannell, not taking her eyes from the plans.

Ignoring her, McDonnell turned to Scannell. "Oh believe me, you're going to make it work."

"That told him," the Doctor grinned.

"Impact in twenty-nine, forty-six."

Oliviana threw down the plans once more and approached the Doctor. "_Can I ask you one more question?"_ she asked in Gallifreyan.

The Doctor sighed and looked up from fiddling with the engine. "_What?"_

Oliviana took a deep breath and looked at the floor. "_What about Koschei?"_

"_What about him?"_ the Doctor asked cautiously, not wanting to hurt her while they were still in danger.

"_Is he still alive?"_

Oliviana raised her head to look into the Doctor's eyes, searching them for an answer. Her face fell and her shoulders sagged as she noticed the sadness in them. "_Is he alive?"_ she asked once more, her voice breaking.

The Doctor shook his head, pulling her into his arms as she let out a ragged breath, trying to hold back tears. Yes, she hated him, but not enough to wish he was dead. "_If he's dead, then I don't care if this ship goes into the sun_."


	15. 42: Part II

A/N: Still don't own Doctor Who.

* * *

><p>The Doctor was about to reply, but was cut short by the intercom. "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me," Abi said.<p>

The Doctor let go of Oliviana and approached the intercom. "What do you mean?"

Oliviana looked at the ceiling, willing herself to regain composure.

"Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up," Abi replied. "It's impossible."

Abi was silent for a moment as the Doctor thought about how to respond. "This is med-center, urgent assistance requested!" Abi suddenly barked over the intercom. "Urgent Assistance!"

Erina went to then intercom as the Doctor, Oliviana, and McDonnell ran out, "Abi, they're on their way."

The trio ran into Scannell on the way to the med-center. "Captain?"

The Doctor rounded on him. "I told you to stay in Engineering."

Scannell looked at the Doctor defiantly. "I only take orders from one person 'round here."

Oliviana looked down her nose at him in distaste. "Oh, is he always this cheery?" she sneered.

Suddenly, loud, anguished screams erupted through the ship, setting them off running once again.

"Doctor, what were those screams?" Martha asked frantically over the intercom.

Oliviana slapped her hand over an intercom on the wall. "Concentrate on the doors. You've got to keep moving forward."

"Impact in twenty-seven, oh-six."

The Doctor, Oliviana, McDonnell, and Scannell ran into the med-center finally. It was completely empty.

"Korwin's gone," McDonnell commented, noticing the absence of her husband above everything else around them. It wasn't lost on Oliviana.

"Doctor," Oliviana called, noticing the remains of Abi.

Scannell stood next to her. "Oh my God. Tell me that's not Lerner."

The Doctor came up behind them. "Endothermic vaporization."

Oliviana looked questioningly at the Doctor. "We saw those at the Academy, but I've never seen one this ferocious."

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her. "Burn with me."

"That's what we heard Korwin say," Scannell stated.

McDonnell started putting pieces together. "What? Do you think? No way," she said, looking around the room pleadingly, "Scannell, tell him; Korwin is not a killer! He can't vaporize people! He's human!"

Oliviana picked up the stack of papers on the medical table. "His bioscan results. Internal temperature: one-hundred degrees. Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen."

"Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed," the Doctor muttered.

McDonnell shook her head in opposition. "The test results are wrong."

"Doctor, what could this possibly be?" Oliviana asked, racking her mind for anything she could have learned at the Academy. "A parasite? A mutagenic virus?"

"Something that needs a host body," the Doctor agreed, "but how did it get inside him?"

"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!" McDonnell yelled at the pair.

"Where's this ship been?" Oliviana asked.

The Doctor perked up, understanding where Oliviana was going with that line of questioning. "Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?"

McDonnell grew visibly more angry. "What is this, an investigation?"

"Maybe it is," Oliviana retorted; if McDonnell wanted to be difficult, then she could certainly be difficult in return.

"We've got to stop him before he kills again," the Doctor explained, positioning himself between McDonnell and Oliviana.

"We're just a cargo ship," McDonnell sighed, running hand over her face.

Scannell put a hand on her shoulder. "Doctor, Duchess, if you giver her a minute…"

Oliviana scoffed and turned away.

"I'm fine, I need to warn the crew," McDonnell said, but Oliviana beat her to the intercom.

"Everyone, listen to me," she growled in a low voice. "Something has infected Korwin. We think, no sorry, know, that he killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him."

McDonnell pushed Oliviana aside, but paused before adding, "Is that clear?"

There was silence over the intercom before Ashton responded, "Understood, captain."

"Impact in twenty-four, fifty-one."

"Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?" McDonnell asked.

The Doctor couldn't meet McDonnell's eyes as he responded. "I don't know."

"Don't lie to me, Doctor," McDonnell admonished, turning to Oliviana instead. "Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope."

Oliviana understood what she was going through and placed a hand on her arm. "The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's hone. There's no way back," she replied sadly, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

The Doctor made a noise in his throat; something wasn't making any sense. "Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me."

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing."

Oliviana narrowed her eyes in thought. "Then why is this thing so interested in you?"

McDonnell shrugged her shoulders. "I wish I knew."

Martha's voice came over the intercom. "Doctor, we're through to area seventeen."

"Honestly, it's like she doesn't even know I'm here," Oliviana complained, pressing the intercom to say, "Keep going. You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines. I'm not dying on some godforsaken savage ship."

"Heat shields failing. At twenty percent."

McDonnell looked panicked as Oliviana knocked over the medical tray in frustration. "I mean it Doctor, I am _not_ dying here!"

"Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod."

McDonnell, Oliviana, and the Doctor looked between each other, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Pod jettison initiated."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot high up on his face. "No, no, no, no!"

"Why is this happening?" McDonnell screamed, grabbing her hair in distress.

"Stay here," the Doctor commanded McDonnell, Scannell and Oliviana. "I mean it this time! Jump start those engines!"

The trio got to work on the engine right away, ignoring the computer.

"Jettison held."

"Jettison reactivated."

"Jettison held. Escape pod stabilized."

McDonnell suddenly yelled for Ashton.

Scannell looked at Oliviana desperately. "Someone's hacked into the systems. I can't reroute the generator. There's now way I'm going to be able to jumpstart this ship!"

"Scannell, take a deep breath, perhaps go for a quick walk and I'll see what I can do," Oliviana coaxed. Truthfully, she wanted a chance to play around with the engine without any humans getting in her way.

She was so engaged with the engine she didn't notice a figure approach McDonnell until it started talking.

"It's your fault," Korwin said in a hollow, angry voice.

"Jettison activated."

McDonnell backed up to where Scannell and Oliviana were standing.

"Duchess, what do we do?" Scannell asked.

Oliviana's eyes went wide as Korwin approached with deadly precision. "I don't know! They didn't teach this in the Academy!"

McDonnell grabbed her arm tightly. "You've had to have experienced something like this in all of your years!"

"I'm only a few centuries old!" Oliviana panicked, finally becoming truly scared for her life. "The Doctor is the one who's been exploring for centuries! He's practically three times my age now!"

Korwin got closer. "You have to reason with him!" Oliviana shouted at McDonnell, not knowing what else to do.

McDonnell nodded and gazed at Korwin. "What do you mean it's my fault?"

"It's your fault," he responded in the same voice as before, "Now burn with me!"

* * *

><p>Oliviana watched in horror as Korwin's hand went to raise the visor. Scannell turned a valve behind them and engulfed Korwin in dry ice.<p>

"What are you doing?" McDonnell asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Freezing him," Scannell explained, pointing to the ceiling. "Ice vents."

"You'll kill him!"

"Airlock sealed."

The Doctor's voice came over the intercom, calming Oliviana slightly. "Duchess? Ashton's heading in your direction."

Oliviana nodded. "Good we need help down here."

"No!" the Doctor shouted, making Oliviana flinch, "He's been infected, just like Korwin."

Scannell walked up next to Oliviana. "Korwin's dead, Doctor."

"Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod. Impact in seventeen, oh-five."

Oliviana could only look on sadly as McDonnell knelt down next to Korwin's limp body. Scannell squared his shoulders at her, ignoring the death of his friend. "What did he mean, your fault?"

McDonnell ignored him and reached out a hand to brush against her husband's face. Oliviana's throat tightened and she turned her back, unwilling to watch any longer.

"What are you doing? Don't touch him!" Scannell shouted, slapping McDonnell's hands away from Korwin. "He's infected. We don't know how it spreads!"

McDonnell jumped up and got in Scannell's face. "You murdered him!"

"He was about to kill you!"

"He recognized me!"

"You heard the Doctor," Oliviana muttered lowly, breaking up the argument. "It isn't Korwin anymore."

McDonnell scoffed. "You don't know. The Doctor doesn't know None of us knows!"

Oliviana spun around, nostrils flared, eyes wide with glaring anger. She had had enough. "So what are you going to do, sit there until we burn?" she yelled, a furious flush creeping up her neck and face, "Because without you none of us stand a chance of getting out of here and _I am not dying here!"_

"Scannell, I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now!" the Doctor said over the intercom.

"What for?" Oliviana demanded, still angry from confronting McDonnell.

"Just get down here!" the Doctor replied.

Oliviana looked at Scannell expectantly. "Well go on, do what the Doctor says."

Scannell looked worried. "Ashton's still out there."

Oliviana rolled her eyes and looked at McDonnell for support. "We'll deal with him."

Scannell nodded and ran toward area seventeen with a spacesuit slung over his shoulder.

Oliviana and McDonnell devised a makeshift plan to deal with Ashton. McDonnell lured him into the med-center. Once he was in there, both women subdued him and pushed him into the stasis chamber. Oliviana fiddled with the controls, managing to switch it on, dropping the temperature until Ashton died.

"Decompression initiated. Impact in twelve, fifty-five."

McDonnell looked at Oliviana. "What the hell does that mean?"

Oliviana's mouth dropped open. "How the hell should I know? It's your ship!"

"Impact in eleven, fifteen. Heat shield failing. At ten percent."

"Come on!" Oliviana shouted, grabbing McDonnell's arm and running out of the med-center. "We should meet them in area seventeen!"

The two women ran as fast as they could through the ship.

"Impact in eight, fifty-seven. Airlock recompression completed."

They found the group, just in time to see white light emanating angrily from the Doctor's eyes.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled.

"_Theta!"_ Oliviana gasped in Gallifreyan, dropping to his side. "_What's wrong with you?"_

The Doctor groaned. "_It's her fault, Captain McDonnell's!"_

McDonnell dropped to the other side of the Doctor. "Why is he speaking like that?"

Oliviana pressed a hand to the Doctor's forehead. His skin was burning. "He's in too much pain to speak anything but his first language," she explained.

McDonnell looked over her shoulder to Riley. "Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell with the doors! Go!" Riley ran off.

"_She mined that sun. Stripped its surface for cheap fuel,_" the Doctor whimpered, clutching Oliviana's hands with his own.

Oliviana was furious with McDonnell as she translated the Doctor into English. "You should have scanned for life!" she added.

"I don't understand," McDonnell replied absently.

Martha knelt down next to Oliviana. "What is he talking about?"

Oliviana let go of the Doctor's hands and put an arm around him, letting him rest against her body. "That sun is alive! A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it is screaming inside of the Doctor!"

"What do you mean?" McDonnell asked, "How can a sun be alive? Why is it screaming inside the Doctor?"

The Doctor moaned with pain and Oliviana stroked his hair. "Because it's living in him!"

"Oh my God," McDonnell breathed with horror.

"Humans!" the Doctor managed to gasp in English, "You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned."

"_Theta, save your energy,"_ Oliviana coaxed. She was becoming quite scared again, but this time not for herself, but for the Doctor.

"It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal."

The Doctor ignored her and looked up at Oliviana. "_You've got to freeze me, quickly."_

Oliviana shook her head. _"Absolutely not."_

"_Do it, Oliviana. Set the stasis chamber to below minus two-hundred. Freeze it out of me!"_ the Doctor pleaded with her. "_It'll use me to kill you if you don't! The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets!"_

Oliviana took a deep breath to steady herself. "Alright, everyone, change of plans, we're moving the Doctor to the med-center!"

"Impact in seven, thirty."

After a struggle, the three women finally got the Doctor onto the table of the stasis chamber. Martha grabbed the instruction manual. "I can do it!" she announced.

Oliviana swatted the manual from her hands. "No, you don't know how this equipment works! You'll kill him and I won't have a human killing off the only Time Lord anywhere near me!"

McDonnell stepped in between Oliviana and the controls. "Nobody can survive those temperatures."

"I already told you earlier the Doctor and I are not human!" Oliviana exclaimed, pushing McDonnell out of the way.

"Let me help you then," McDonnell apologized, standing in front of the controls. Oliviana nodded and stood beside the Doctor, taking his hand into hers.

"Make sure he's only in there for ten seconds!" she called back to McDonnell before focusing on the Doctor.

"_Theta, how are you?_" she asked him in Gallifreyan again.

"_It's burning me up. I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all."_

Oliviana brushed hair away from his eyes with her free hand. "_I'm scared. I'm so scared!"_ the Doctor whimpered, looking up at her desperately.

"Just stay calm," Martha coaxed, not understanding that the two Time Lords were saying, but knowing that the Doctor was afraid. That sounded the same, no matter the language or species.

"_You saved me from 1482 and now I'm going to return the favor. Believe in me, Theta_," Oliviana smiled bravely for the Doctor.

"_It's burning through me," _he exclaimed, _"Then what will open!"_

Oliviana rested her forehead against the Doctor's. "_That's enough,"_ she demanded quietly, hoping to calm him down. "_I've got you."_

Martha leaned over the Doctor as Oliviana backed away slightly. "Are you ready?"

The Doctor closed his eyes. "No."

Martha rolled the Doctor into the stasis chamber and pressed the green button to start the process.

Oliviana winced as the Doctor's screams filled the med-center.

"Heat shields failing. At five percent."

The stasis chamber lowered to seventy degrees below and suddenly stopped, leaving a frost-covered Doctor. Oliviana turned to Martha. "You can't stop it! Not yet!" she yelled.

Martha looked at McDonnell. "What happened?"

McDonnell closed her eyes. "Power's been cut in engineering."

"But who's down there?" Martha asked. She realized she would have to deal with the humans now that Oliviana's sole focus was on the Doctor.

"Leave it to me," McDonnell replied, running from the med-center.

"Impact in four, forty-seven."

"He's defrosting!" Oliviana exclaimed worriedly. She didn't know what to do; when her father said she was inexperienced she never believed him, but now she most definitely did. She was no more than three-hundred and fifty years old, still quite young for a Time Lady, and she had never gone off the planet Gallifrey, besides her short stint as a human on Earth.

"_Oliviana, listen!"_ the Doctor called from inside the chamber. "_I've only got a moment. You've got to go!"_

Oliviana put a hand to the glass. "_Absolutely not going to happen."_

The Doctor rolled his eyes and called out to Martha. "Get to the front. Vent the engines. Sun particles in the fuel, get rid of them," he instructed.

"I'm not leaving you," Martha said.

"I'll be here with him," Oliviana said. "You've got to give back what they took, now go!"

Martha ran off.

"Impact in four, oh-eight."

"_Theta, I'm afraid,"_ Oliviana confessed. "_I just want to see my home again. I want to know what happened to my Koschei_"

The Doctor smiled sadly at the young Time Lady in front of him. _"Without you to help ease the drums in his head, he progressively became more insane. Absolutely lost it at the end. He followed me around the universe, convinced everything was my fault, trying to kill me every chance he got."_

Oliviana shook her head in denial. "_No, he could never be cruel_."

"Impact in three, forty-three."

"_You didn't see him at the beginning of the War,_" the Doctor continued, hating how he was hurting Oliviana, but knowing that she had to know the truth now in case he died. "_He was like a rabid dog. So the High Council put him out of his misery._"

"Exterior airlock open."

"_What about the other Time Lords?"_

The Doctor couldn't look into her eyes. "_They're all dead. Every one of them except for you and me."_

"Impact in two, seventeen. Primary engines critical."

As the engines began failing, the stasis chamber shorted out. The Doctor fell out of the stasis chamber. Oliviana backed up against a wall as the Doctor crawled toward her with a crazed look on his face that she knew belonged to the sun inside of him.

"_Doctor, don't let the sun kill us both_," she begged, pressing herself flat against the wall as the Doctor raised up in front of her.

She sucked in a breath as he grabbed onto the side of her face with one hand and pressed the intercom with the other. She realized the entire ship would hear her die.

"Martha!" the Doctor called over the intercom. Oliviana struggled against his grip. Although the Doctor was able to communicate with Martha, it seemed the sun had control of his physical movements.

"Doctor! What are you doing?" Martha called over the intercom. "Where's the Duchess?"

"_Theta, please stop_," Oliviana whimpered, feeling her face begin to bruise under his grip. "_You're hurting me._"

"I can't fight it," the Doctor said to both Martha and Oliviana, "Give it back or burn with me."

"_No,"_ Oliviana breathed. The sun had completely taken over the Doctor's body.

"Burn with me, Martha," he said.

"Impact in one, twenty-one."

The Doctor shifted his focus from the intercom to Oliviana. "Burn with me, Duchess," the sun inside the Doctor said.

Oliviana tried to move, but her body was blocked by his. He grabbed her hands in restraint. "_Burn with me_," he repeated, this time in Gallifreyan.

"Life support systems reaching critical. Repeat. Life support systems reaching critical. Impact in one, oh-six."

"_Please,"_ Oliviana begged, shutting her eyes, knowing what was impending.

"Collision alert. Collision alert. Collision alert. Fifty-eight seconds to fatal impact."

The Doctor's eyes opened and Oliviana felt the light burning through her eyelids. "_I don't fear death if you will be there with my brother and Koschei_," Oliviana whispered, opening her eyes, willing her death.

"Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress."

As Oliviana's body began to burn, the light in the Doctor's eyes goes out. Oliviana barely caught the Doctor as he collapsed in exhaustion.

"Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted."

_"__You're safe now," _Oliviana murmured, hugging the Doctor's shaking body close to hers. "_It's all over_."


	16. Human Nature: Part I

_"__Martha, get down!" the Doctor screamed as Oliviana threw herself over Martha. An energy beam blast just missed them before the Doctor slammed the TARDIS door shut._

_"__Did they see you?" he asked Martha, pulling both women off the floor._

_"__I don't know."_

_Oliviana put her hands on Martha's shoulders, shaking them a little to get her to focus. "But did they see you?" she repeated._

_Martha shook her head, thinking. "I don't know," she repeated. Oliviana sighed and threw her hands in the air, focusing on the console instead. "I was too busy running."_

_"__Martha," the Doctor said bluntly, "it's important. Did they see your face?"_

_"__Doctor, I don't think they could have," Oliviana said, unwilling for the exchange to continue. If the Doctor truly wanted, he could ask the same questions over and over again indefinitely. "Let's just go."_

_Between the Doctor and Oliviana, the TARDIS was launched into the Time Vortex in no time at all. "Really? They're following us!" Oliviana exclaimed frustratedly, reading data from the navigation screen._

_"__How can they do that? You've got a time machine!" Martha protested, coming to Oliviana's side to look at the data, but not understanding it since it was in Gallifreyan._

_The Doctor snorted. "Stolen technology. They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator."_

_Martha looked at him indignantly. "So?"_

_"__So," Oliviana mimicked, "That means they can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop."_

_"__Unless," the Doctor mused._

_Oliviana shot him a sharp look, knowing exactly where he was going with this. "Absolutely not, Doctor."_

_"__We'll have to do it, Duchess," he replied sternly. He turned to Martha, "Martha, you trust me, don't you?"_

_"__Of course I do."_

_"__I'm still not doing this," Oliviana grumbled grumpily._

_The Doctor ignored her. "Because it all depends on you."_

_"__What does?" Martha questioned. "What am I supposed to do?"_

_The Doctor held out two ornately-decorated fob watches. "Take these watches because our lives depend on it."_

_"__Absolutely no way in hell," Oliviana spat._

_"__These watches, Martha. The watches are…"_

* * *

><p>Elizabeth rolled over in her sleep, unconsciously curling next to the closest source of warmth on the cold morning.<p>

"Ellie," a soft voice called, a hand gently rocking her out of her sleep.

"No," she muttered, burying her face against the warmth.

There was a chuckle and a shifting of the bed. She slowly opened her eyes to see wrinkled blue and white striped pajamas in front of her. "John, what time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Martha will be in shortly," John replied, pulling the covers off his body and getting out of bed as there was a knock on the door. "That would be her."

Elizabeth groaned and got out of bed as well, pulling a warm housecoat over her flannel nightdress. She looked in the mirror and smoothed down her pale hair.

"Come in," John called.

Their family maid, Martha entered the room, moving carefully to disturb neither her finely-pressed uniform nor the delicate china on the breakfast tray.

"Oh how lovely," Elizabeth smiled pleasantly upon seeing the fine spread, "Thank you so much Martha."

Martha looked up to tell Elizabeth it was no trouble at all, but saw John standing in only his night clothes and blushed wildly, averting her eyes. "Pardon me, Mister Smith, you're not dressed yet. I can come back layer."

"Honestly, John," Elizabeth scolded him lightly, handing him his housecoat. "No, Martha, it's alright, you can put the tray down anywhere."

John looked at Martha apologetically. "Sorry, sorry."

Elizabeth peered over the tray, picking out a pastry. "Don't mind him, Martha. His head is always in the clouds in the morning."

Martha pulled back the curtains, letting bright morning sun into the room. The peach-colored walls and the dark cherry wood paneling and furniture always looked so dreary in the dark, but once the light flooded in, the room was so agreeable and cheerful. John disagreed with her, but Elizabeth always poked fun at his lack of sentimental imagination when it came to these sorts of things.

John shrugged noncommittally. "Sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams."

Martha peered over her shoulder with attentiveness. "What about, sir?"

"He dreams that he's this adventurer," Elizabeth teased, leaning against him, pastry dangling between her spindly fingers, "This daredevil, a madman. Called _the Doctor_."

John chuckled, stroking Elizabeth's arm affectionately. "Last night I dreamt you were there, Martha, as my companion."

Elizabeth laughed, turning around to look up at John. "Martha? Should I be worried you chose our housemaid as a companion instead of your wife?"

Martha blushed furiously and busied herself with dusting. "A teacher and a housemaid, sir? That's impossible."

"Ah," Elizabeth replied, "thats the thing. He's a man from another _world_."

"Well it can't be true because there's no such thing," Martha said with a slight degree of finality.

John wandered around the room, quite distractedly. He picked up two old fob watches, turning them over in his hands pensively. "These things… the watch is…"

"John, darling, come try one of these," Elizabeth called excitedly, bent over the breakfast tray once more, "They're absolutely fabulous!"

John put the watches down without another thought about them and crossed the room to join Elizabeth. "It's funny how dreams slip away. But I do remember one thing," he mused. "It all took place in the future. In the Year of Our Lord two-thousand and seven."

"Dear Lord, John, are you feeling unwell?" Elizabeth asked, setting a hand against his brow to check for a temperature.

"I can prove you wrong, sir. Here's the morning paper," Martha said, handing him the morning paper.

Elizabeth peered over his shoulder. "It's Monday, November tenth, nineteen-thirteen," she read. "Well I guess that makes you completely human, dear."

Martha nodded. "As human as they come."

John nodded, taking a bite from the pastry Elizabeth was holding absently. "Mmm, that's me. Completely human."

"John Smith," Elizabeth scolded, more firm this time, "you are an absolute devil."

Martha couldn't help but smile as John grinned wickedly in return. "I'll be off then, Mister Smith," Martha said, addressing the head of the household as was customary. John nodded, dismissing her.

Elizabeth smiled, "Have a pleasant day, Martha!" she called as Martha left the room, "And thank you for the wonderful breakfast!"

The door shut and John put his arms around Elizabeth, pulling her into his chest. "Now, what will you get up to this morning?" he asked, resting his head atop hers.

"Mmm, I'm not sure," she replied, wrapping her arms around his thin torso under the housecoat as she clung to him for warmth. "I think I may go for a walk around the grounds for a few hours to get some fresh air."

John pulled back and looked into her grey eyes. "Promise me you won't make yourself ill for a second time this month."

Elizabeth smiled fondly. "I promise, John. Now you better get going, or you'll be late for your first lecture."

John spotted the time on an old, iron clock. "You're very right!"

Elizabeth helped John get dressed in his favorite suit. He liked it because it was the same color of her eyes. She liked it because it was the warmest one he owned and prevented him from getting cold in the crisp morning weather.

"John, wait," she called, holding his gown and mortar board, "you forgot these!"

John closed the door and went back into the room. "What would I do without you?" he asked, putting the items on.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Walk around half-dressed all the time, I imagine."

The corners of John's eyes wrinkled as he smiled down at her. "I'll be back up in a few hours to collect my books. Will you be here?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Of course."

John leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a brief kiss before opening the door once again and leaving the room. Elizabeth shut the door softly behind him and got ready for the day ahead.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Elizabeth was perched daintily on the large leather couch, embroidering a handkerchief, her mind off wandering instead of paying any attention to what she was doing.<p>

"Ellie, are you in?"

Elizabeth put down her embroidery and bounced off the couch to meet her husband as he entered the room. John pulled off his gown and mortar board for his hour-long break before he went back to teaching.

"John!" Elizabeth greeted, throwing her arms around his neck happily. "I was so bored by myself."

John kissed her lightly. "I thought you were going to go for a walk this morning?"

Elizabeth draped the mortar board and gown over a chair and went to pour him some tea. "I was, but then I sat down to do some embroidery and I must have lost track of the time."

John took the tea from her. "What were you making this time?"

Elizabeth scrunched her nose in thought. "You know, I'm not quite sure, actually. I don't remember."

John raised an eyebrow and sat on the couch, picking up the handkerchief. "Why on Earth are you embroidering a 'K'?" he asked. "We don't know anyone with that initial, do we?"

Confused, she examined the handkerchief as if noticing it for the first time. "No, I don't think we do."

"Odd," John remarked, but placed the embroidery on the table behind him, neither one thinking on it anymore. "Come sit next to me."

Elizabeth brought over her teacup and sat next to John. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Ellie, you said we could talk about it today, remember?"

She set her teacup on the table behind him and then did the same with his. "John, I don't think we're ready for that yet."

He brushed a thumb against her sunken cheeks tenderly. "You would be amazing at it, which you know as well as I do."

"We don't have enough room here anyways," Elizabeth noted as she gazed around the small suite.

John followed her gaze until his eyes landed on the clock for the second time that day. "You think about it this afternoon, and we'll talk about it again tonight," he smiled at her.

Elizabeth nodded and stood up after he did. "Let's get you back into your gown and mortar board."

She helped him into his attire and piled books into his arms that he told her to get. "You're going to tumble over from all of that," she laughed.

John winked at her playfully. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," he said, walking through the door Elizabeth opened for him.

"Oh yeah," she teased, "that'll be the day, John."

John stood just outside the door, "Why don't you get some rest and think about what we talked about?"

Elizabeth kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, John," she said affectionately. "You have a good day as well."

"Ah, always," he replied, placing a kiss on her forehead and turning around to leave.

Elizabeth chuckled fondly as she saw John almost run into Matron Redfern before she shut the door, deciding that a catnap would do her wonders.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth couldn't have been reclined on the couch for more than ten minutes before the door burst open, startling her into an upright position.<p>

"John! Matron! Is everything alright?" she exclaimed, running over to the pair. Matron was holding a stack of John's books and papers while he was holding a bloody rag to the back of his head.

John walked over to the desk and pulled out a medical kit. "Don't worry yourself, Elizabeth, it's only a minor cut."

Matron Redfern set the books down by the door and took the medical kit from John. "Let me handle this," she stated. She faced Elizabeth, "John fell down the stairs."

Elizabeth ushered John into his favorite chair by the large window. The well-used chess set stood next to his chair on the left. "Let me take a look at it," she fretted, picking his matted hair away from the cut. "It's going to need to be sewn back up!"

Matron Redfern positioned herself next to Elizabeth. "I can take over from here. I am a nurse, you know."

Standing up straighter in a desperate attempt to make herself taller, Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the Matron. "And I am his _wife_, you know."

John twisted around in the chair. "Ellie, just let Nurse Redfern stitch it back up, please."

"Yes, John," Elizabeth retorted, displeased with the decision, but relenting nonetheless. She went over to the couch and picked up her embroidery.

"Are you still working on the mysterious 'K'?" John inquired, wincing as Nurse Redfern began to do her job. Elizabeth nodded silently, ignoring the other woman in the room moodily.

"Stop it," Nurse Redfern scolded, "I get boys causing less fuss than this."

"It hurts," John whined.

The door burst open and Martha ran in. "Is he alright?" she questioned frantically.

Elizabeth stood and put a hand on her shoulder to calm the housemaid down. "Yes dear, he'll be fine."

Nurse Redfern scrutinized Martha. "Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."

Annoyed, Elizabeth said, "Don't mind the Matron, Martha. It's my room, not hers."

"Elizabeth," John warned, "Nurse Redfern does happen to be right."

Martha looked between the tense face of Elizabeth and the expectant faces of the Matron and John. "Sorry, right, yeah," she apologized, running back to the door to knock on it. Elizabeth clapped her hands in amusement. "But is he alright? They said you fell down the stairs sir."

"No it was just a tumble, that's all."

"He's being brave," Elizabeth cut in, "he's practically gashed his head open!"

"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha asked Nurse Redfern.

"I have," she replied taken aback by the housemaid's audacity. "And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you."

"Sorry, I'll just tidy your things," Martha said, fluttering over to another part of the room to get out of the way. Elizabeth looked furious at the Matron, and Martha knew enough from their previous adventures not to get in the way of a furious Time Lady.

"Let me help you, Martha," Elizabeth muttered, turning her back to the Matron and John in a huff, and crossing to the exact opposite side of the room so she wouldn't hear their conversation.

Martha straightened books on one of John's bookshelves. "Martha, do you know if the Matron has feelings for my husband?" Elizabeth whispered, straightening a slanted leather-bound book.

Martha stole a glance over her shoulder at the pair. "No, ma'am, but I wouldn't put it past her. They look awfully friendly to me."

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder as well, observing the nurse pressing a stethoscope against John's chest in what looked like too-intimate of an embrace for her husband to be involved in with another woman. "Well," was all she could say, choosing to focus on the bookshelf instead.

Martha didn't go back to straightening though, instead watching John and the Matron. "He's giving her his dream journal," she narrated quietly.

"Martha," Elizabeth chided, "If one is purposely avoiding looking at something and wanting to know something, it is best advised to not narrate the somethings which one is avoiding to them."

Martha looked back at the shelf. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

><p>As soon as both Martha and the Matron left, Elizabeth rounded on John. "Do you have a thing for the Matron?"<p>

John's mouth dropped open. "Are you being serious, Ellie?"

"Don't 'Ellie' me, just tell me the truth."

John ran a hand over his face in frustration. "I could ask you the same thing, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth snorted. "Oh yeah, because I most _definitely_ have a thing for the Matron. You can see right through me now."

Picking up the handkerchief, John pointed to the embroidery. "Who is this man with the letter 'K' in his name, hmm? Because I don't know anyone with that initial, but who knows, maybe you do!" he retorted angrily.

Elizabeth picked up the pile of discarded books and thrust them into John's hands, taking the handkerchief from him. "Why don't you just go teach your classes and leave me be," she hissed. "And when you're gone, I'll invite this mysterious 'K' fellow over."

John sighed. "I'm going to the pub after classes, so I won't be back until late."

Elizabeth kept her gaze on the display of butterflies on the wall. "I won't wait up."

"Fine."

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Martha, these watches are us."_

_Martha nodded but then shook her head in confusion. "Right, okay, gotcha. No, hold on. Completely lost."_

_"__Really, Martha? Keep up!" Oliviana chided impatiently. "Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and with the Doctor and me being Time Lords, well, we're unique. They can track us down across the whole of time and space."_

_"__Huh," Martha grunted. "And the good news is?"_

_"__They can smell us, but they haven't seen us," the Doctor replied. "And their life span will be running out, so we hide."_

_"__Wait for them to die," Oliviana added darkly._

_"__Oh, real nice, Duchess," the Doctor rolled his eyes._

_"__But they can track us down," Martha repeated._

_The Doctor nodded. "That's why we've got to do it. We have to stop being Time Lords. We're going to become human."_

_Oliviana raised her eyebrows indignantly as the Chameleon Arch lowered from the ceiling. "You might," she said, pointing at the Doctor, "but I'm certainly never doing that again."_

_"__Never thought I'd use this," the Doctor mused, unfazed by Oliviana's outburst, "All the times I've wondered."_

_"__What does it do?" Martha inquired, examining the device._

_"__Chameleon Arch," Oliviana answered bitterly. "Rewrites our biology. Literally changes every single cell in our bodies."_

_"__I've set it to human," the Doctor reported as he put the first watch into the headset._

_"__Now, the TARDIS will take care of everything. Invent a life story for us, find us a setting and integrate us. Can't do the same for you," the Doctor told Martha. "You'll just gave to improvise. We should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."_

_"__I'm not going first," Oliviana finally relented, realizing begrudgingly that she would have to go through with this."_

_The Doctor nodded and lowered the headset onto himself._

_"__But hold on," Martha interjected, "If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?"_

_Oliviana snorted. "You have no idea," she muttered._

_The Doctor activated the Chameleon Arch and started howling from pain. Martha looked at Oliviana, absolutely horrified._

_Oliviana rolled her eyes. "He's being dramatic," she sneered, "no one ever screams like that."_

* * *

><p>Elizabeth didn't talk to John that night when he returned home from the pub. She had seen him walk up to the school in the company of a certain Nurse Redfern.<p>

She knew she was being unreasonable, but she did have a temper that was hard for her to control at times. Elizabeth would have dropped it and apologized to John if he hadn't accused her of being with another man.

Elizabeth had no clue why she embroidered a handkerchief with that particular letter. She couldn't figure out why she thought this way, but she wanted to embroider a specific letter that wasn't in the English alphabet, but chose an English letter that closely-resembled the sound it made instead. Elizabeth didn't know any language but English, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there had to be another she had been exposed to before.

The next morning, Elizabeth went through the motions of waking up, eating the breakfast Martha had brought to them, and dressing herself for the day, all without speaking a word to John.

Still very early in the morning, there was a knock on the door. "I swear, John, if this is Matron Redfern again," Elizabeth growled, heading to open the door.

She was pleasantly surprised to greet a young boy. "Oh hello, Timothy!" she smiled pleasantly.

Timothy smiled shyly back at her as he entered the room. John stood across the room to greet him. "Timothy! To what do I owe the pleasure of this _very early_ visit?"

"You told me to come and collect that book sir," Timothy replied.

"John!" Elizabeth protested, "It's not even eight in the morning and you told the poor boy to come already!"

Timothy stared at John expectantly as John suddenly remembered that he had asked the boy to come. "Good lad. Yes, yes! _The Definitive Account of Mafeking_ by Aitchison Price," John recalled. "Where did I put it?" he asked Elizabeth, hoping she would help him even though she was still angry with him.

"I'll look for it," Elizabeth replied, searching through the multitude of books around the room.

"Thank you," John smiled softly. He turned back to Timothy. "I wanted a little word while my wife looks for the book. Your marks aren't quite good enough."

"I'm top ten in my class, sir."

Elizabeth passed by Timothy at that moment and stooped down to kiss him on the cheek. "You're doing very well, Timothy, don't listen to him."

"Now, to be honest, Timothy, you should be at the very top. You're a clever boy. You seem to be hiding it."

"Where is that book?" Elizabeth huffed, making her way into the rows of dusty books. She'd have to have a talk with Martha about dusting _every_ part of the room, not just the parts around her husband.

John continued lecturing the boy. "And I know why, keeping your head low avoids the mockery of your classmates. But no man should hide himself, don't you think?"

Latimer nodded curtly. "Yes, sir."

"Now, let me see where my wife has gotten to," John chuckled, heading to the rows of books. Elizabeth was having a hard time reaching to top shelves to read the bindings, so he peered at them for her. "You're clever," John called to Timothy, "Be proud of it; use it."

"Ah, here it is!" Elizabeth exclaimed excitedly, pulling the book from a shelf and handing it to John. John kissed her cheek and went back out to Timothy, Elizabeth following him.

"Fascinating details about the siege," he said, handing Timothy the book. "Really quite remarkable."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the boy. "Are you all right, dear?" she asked concerned about his countenance.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied quickly, "Fine, ma'am."

John nodded. "Right then. Good. And remember, use that brain of yours."

John shook Timothy's hand, and then bowed to Elizabeth. Elizabeth patted him on the shoulder. "You're really not looking too well, dear. Is anything bothering you?"

"No, ma'am," he replied stoically and then turned to John, "Thank you, sir."

Timothy left the room in a hurry.

"I'm worried about that poor boy," Elizabeth sighed, sitting down on the leather couch.

John sat next to her. "I'll keep an eye on him, if that would make you happy."

Elizabeth took his hand into hers. "Thank you, John."

John raised her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "I have to instruct the boys at the shooting range now, but will you meet me there in about two hours? I have to go into the village and I'd love for you to accompany me."

Elizabeth smiled slightly; he was trying to apologize in the only way he knew how. "I'll meet you there."

* * *

><p>Elizabeth put on her nicest lavender dress, followed by her favorite lavender winter coat. She pulled her long, pale hair into a simple half-up, half-down style and pinned a delicate hat atop it.<p>

She appraised her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied, she left the room to go to the field where the boys were practicing shooting at targets.

The air was very cold since it was a mid-November afternoon. Elizabeth pulled the coat tighter around her. She approached the shooting range, stopping at the wall separating the stone walkway from the grassy field to watch shooting practice.

As the group was finishing up, Nurse Redfern stood next to her. "Matron," Elizabeth greeted curtly.

"Mrs. Smith," Nurse Redfern replied in the same manner.

John walked up to both women and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek in greeting before greeting the other woman. "Ah, Nurse Redfern."

Elizabeth snaked an arm through John's and leaned against him. "I was just about to ask Nurse Redfern what brought her all the way out here."

Nurse Redfern faltered at being confronted by Elizabeth. "Er, I'll give you back your journal when I next see you," she told John.

"Nurse Redfern, isn't John doing such a splendid job instructing these boys with the guns?" Elizabeth inquired.

Nurse Redfern became visibly uncomfortable. "If you'll excuse me, Mister Smith, Mrs. Smith," she apologized, "I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot."

Even though she didn't like the woman, Elizabeth felt guilty at bringing up a terrible topic. "I beg your pardon, Matron, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No it's quite alright, I best be getting in," Nurse Redfern hurriedly responded.

John put his free hand on her arm. "Why don't you accompany us to the village to get your mind off things?"

Nurse Redfern searched Elizabeth's face for any opposition, but finding none, bowed her head in gratitude. "I'd love to, thank you for the offer."

* * *

><p>"Tell us about your husband, what was he like?" Elizabeth asked as they walked into the village.<p>

"His name was Oliver."

Elizabeth interrupted, "Ooh! I love that name!" she exclaimed. "I always tell John that if we ever have a son, his name should be Oliver, and if we had a daughter instead, her name should be Olivia."

"What was Oliver like?" John prompted Nurse Redfern, realizing she probably didn't want to discuss children when she was a widow herself.

"He died in the battle of Spion Cop. We were childhood sweethearts," the nurse said, perking up. "But you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time."

"You still are," Elizabeth observed. "I don't blame you either."

Nurse Redfern nodded in agreement. "I find myself as part of that school watching boys learn how to kill."

John looked at her. "Don't you think discipline is good for them?"

Joan shrugged her shoulders. "Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war, those boys won't find it so amusing."

"Well, Great Britain is at peace," Elizabeth grinned playfully. "Long may it reign."

They walked on, enjoying the pleasant weather.

"In your journal," the nurse addressed John, "in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. Nineteen-fourteen."

"That was just a dream," Elizabeth reminded her.

Nurse Redfern kept going. "All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow; a shadow falling across the entire world."

Elizabeth spotted a shiny spool of ribbon in a shop window ahead. "Oh, John!" she exclaimed, "I'll be right back. I simply must have that ribbon!"

John smiled after her fondly, watching her run off to the shop window to gaze a while longer at the ribbon until he got there to buy it for her.

"Well then," he said to Nurse Redfern, watching Elizabeth, "we can be thankful it's not true. And I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honor and valor, and let's hope that from now on this country can find its heroes in smaller places," he trailed off, noticing a piano dangling precariously in the air above the door of the shop Elizabeth was about to enter.

"In the most," he continued distractedly, noticing a small child tossing a cricket ball next to him, "ordinary of deeds!" he yelled, throwing the cricket ball to cause a chain reaction to prevent Elizabeth from approaching the door.

The piano fell and Elizabeth shrieked, being knocked onto the ground by the large milk cans. John and Nurse Redfern ran to her side.

"Elizabeth!" John yelled, kneeling down next to her. She looked up at him, startled, with frightened tears in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

She nodded her head, allowing him to help her off the ground. "How did you save me like that?" she asked him, still shaking from the event.

"Luck," he replied, pulling her petite body into a deep embrace.

Nurse Redfern was still astonished by the chain of events. "That was luck?" she repeated as the couple pulled apart.

"Only my husband would be able to do something that extraordinary," Elizabeth praised, brushing his cheek affectionately. "Oh! but do you think I'll still be able to have that ribbon, John? It would go so well with the dress I'm wearing to the dance tonight."

John chuckled at the sudden change in his wife's demeanor and nodded. "You two stay here and I'll be right out with your ribbon."

John went into the store, stepping around the shattered piano. Elizabeth teetered on her feet, trying to make small talk with the nurse. "Are you going to the dance tonight, Nurse Redfern?"

"I'm not sure," she replied hesitantly.

Elizabeth protested. "You must! I'd just love to see you there. Promise me you will?" she insisted happily.

Her positive attitude was contagious, and the nurse found herself promising to go to the dance. John came out of the store, small pouch in hand containing the ribbon. Elizabeth kissed his cheek in gratitude.

"Now," John declared, "shall we go back to the school?"

* * *

><p>The trio walked along a path from the village back to the school.<p>

"Oh, it's all becoming clear now," Nurse Redfern laughed, "The Doctor is the man you'd like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls."

"It seems he discovered a talent; that's certainly true," Elizabeth agreed. "But the Doctor has an eye for the ladies," she teased.

"The devil," John remarked slyly, winking at her.

"A girl at every fireplace," Nurse Redfern teased as well.

John threw up his hands. "Ah, now, there I have to protest, Joan. That's hardly me."

"Says the man dancing with two women tonight," Elizabeth remarked.

John decided it was best not to reply, not wanting to get himself into trouble with his wife now that he seemed to be back in her good graces. "That scarecrow's all skewed."

"Let's fix it then, shall we?" Elizabeth suggested, leading them to it. John begins to tie it back onto the posts.

"You seem to have married ever the artist, Elizabeth," Joan remarked. "Where did he learn to draw.

Both Elizabeth and John answered immediately, at the same time. "Gallifrey."

Joan furrowed her forehead. "Is that in Ireland?"

Elizabeth looked at John in confusion. "Yes, it must be. Yes."

"But neither of you are Irish?"

"Not at all, no," Elizabeth agreed.

"My father, Sidney, was a watchmaker from Nottingham," John explained, "and my mother, Verity, was -er- well, she was a nurse, actually."

Quite possibly forgetting the presence of his wife, Joan smiled flirtatiously at John. "Oh, we make such good wives."

"Yes, they do," Elizabeth smiled tensely, "to unmarried men, of course."

"Right, yes," John said, breaking up another issue between his wife and the nurse before it could begin. "Well, my work is done. What do you think?"

"Masterpiece," Joan complimented.

"It's lovely, darling," Elizabeth said, pecking him on the cheek to remind Joan that her husband was taken.

"All sorts of skills today!" John stated happily, leading the women back onto the path towards school once more.

* * *

><p>Back in their room once more, John helped Elizabeth out of her coat and put both of their coats away as she collapsed onto the couch.<p>

John chuckled and sat by her head, laying her head across his lap and stroking her hair. "I know you were upset with me yesterday, but did you have a chance to think about our conversation?"

Elizabeth smiled, looking up into his eyes. "I have," she giggled, raising herself to an upright position, cuddling into John's chest.

"And?" he asked hesitantly, half-dreading, half-anticipating her answer.

"Yes," she grinned, her face glowing.

John laughed and cupped her face in his hands, his lips crashing against hers. "When can we start trying again?" he whispered against her lips huskily.

There was a knock at the door and they pulled apart. "After the dance tonight?" Elizabeth proposed, finding out who was at the door.

"Ah, Martha!" she greeted, her face still flushed. "We have some wonderful news to tell you!"

John straightened himself into a more appropriate position on the couch, clearing his throat. "Yes, Martha, come in."

Elizabeth took a seat next to John and Martha stood in front of them. "Now Martha, we know that the doctor told us to not get our hopes up, but John and I think it's time to start trying again."

Martha looked like she had seen a ghost. "What? this soon?"

John cocked his head to the side. "Really, Martha. We're two grown adults in a wedded relationship. We listened to the doctor's advice to wait a few months before trying again, and we think it's time."

"But, where would you have the room? This place is too small, isn't it?" Martha stammered.

Elizabeth chuckled at her bashful behavior. "Obviously we'd purchase a small house in the village. A boy's school is no place to raise a baby!"

Martha nodded and scurried from the room, slamming the door on the way out.

"That wasn't on the list."


	17. Human Nature: Part II

**A/N:** I don't own Doctor Who.

* * *

><p>"John, dear can you button up the back of the dress for me?" Elizabeth called, struggling to reach around herself with her short arms.<p>

John's eyes wrinkled at the corners as he smiled at his wife. "Of course," he replied, setting down the leather-bound book and striding across the room to help her. "You look beautiful."

Elizabeth blushed. "You're too kind."

Having finished lacing up her dress, John placed a tender kiss on her shoulder. Elizabeth turned toward him and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Before they could take it any further, the door slammed open and Martha ran in, flustered. Her eyes searched the room frantically, stopping once they found John and Elizabeth. "They've found us!"

Elizabeth hastily stepped away from John, crossing the room to retrieve her lace gloves. "Really, Martha, you are being quite ridiculous," she chided, pulling the gloves on.

"Martha, I've warned you," John said sternly.

Martha advanced to him in an aggressive manner neither John nor Elizabeth had seen before. "They've found us, and I've seen them. They look like people, like us, like normal," Martha exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but you both have to open the watches. Where are they?" she asked, searching the mantle above the fireplace.

Elizabeth looked at Martha with concern for the young housemaid. Perhaps the move had finally gotten to her. "Where is what Martha?"

Martha ignored her. "Oh, my God. Where have they gone? Where are the watches?"

While Elizabeth was concerned, John was annoyed. He put an arm around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her closer to him. "What are you talking about?"

Martha rounded on the couple. "You had two watches. Fob watches. Right there," she stated, pointing to the empty mantle.

"Did we? I don't remember, dear," Elizabeth apologized. "Perhaps we misplaced them somewhere when we went to town."

"I can't see what concern it is of yours, Martha," John added, none too pleased at his housemaid's behavior.

"But we need it!" Martha insisted.

Elizabeth placed a hand on Martha's arm and tried to guide her towards the couch; perhaps Martha had been too overworked and needed a rest to clear her mind.

Martha shrugged Elizabeth's gesture off, glaring at John instead. "Oh my God, Doctor! we're hiding from aliens and they've got Jenny and they've possessed her, or copied her, or _something_, and you've got to tell me, where are the watches?"

"John, perhaps we should give Martha the rest of the week off," Elizabeth suggested sympathetically. "I think she may be a bit tired from the move still."

"This is about the book I gave Nurse Redfern isn't it?" John demanded. When Martha gave him a blank look, John nodded knowingly. "Oh, I see. Cultural differences. It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a _story_."

Martha's mouth dropped open. "Oh, you _complete,_" she broke off, taking a breath instead of finishing whatever she was just about to say. "This is not you." She turned to Elizabeth. "Nor you, for that matter. This is nineteen-thirteen!"

Elizabeth nodded. "Good! This _is_ nineteen-thirteen."

Martha narrowed her eyes at Elizabeth and looked at John. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm really sorry but I've got to snap you out of this."

Before either John or Elizabeth could react, Martha slapped John across the face. The sound echoed through the room.

"Martha!" Elizabeth cried, coming to John's side to make sure she hadn't cut him with her nails.

"Wake up!" Martha yelled at the two of them. "You're both coming back to the TARDIS with me!"

"How dare you!" John exploded, making Elizabeth flinch away at his acidic tone. "I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant, and neither is my wife!"

John saw the distressed look in Elizabeth's eyes and sighed. "Martha, you are dismissed. You will leave these premises immediately. Now get out!" he yelled, pushing Martha out of the room, into the corridor, slamming the door.

"John, maybe you were a little too harsh on the poor girl," Elizabeth mumbled, walking over to the mantle.

"Harsh? the nerve of it! the absolute cheek!" he exclaimed, pacing around the room. "You think I'm a fantasist? What about her?"

"John, look at the dust pattern on the mantle. It seems there were two fob watches here," Elizabeth observed quietly. "Why don't we remember?"

* * *

><p>Elizabeth and John weren't about to let Martha ruin their special night. Pushing the outburst out of their minds, they attended the dance in the village hall in pleasant moods.<p>

John led Elizabeth in four dances before she asked to take a break. He led her to an empty table and fetched refreshments for them. While he was up, Martha took his seat.

"Martha, I'm so sorry my husband was harsh to you earlier," Elizabeth apologized. "I'm sure he didn't mean everything he said."

As she finished saying that, John returned to the table with two drinks in his hands. "Oh, now really Martha. This is getting out of hand," he complained indignantly. "I must ask you to leave my wife and me alone."

Martha reached into her pocket and pulled out a metal device, holding it up to John's face. "Do you know what this is? Name it," she demanded. "Go on, name it."

Elizabeth looked up at John, confused at his sudden silence. "John, what is that silly thing?" she asked, taking another look at it. "Why does it look somewhat familiar? Have we seen it at an exhibition in London before?"

John took the device from Martha's hand and turned it over in his, examining it.

"You're not John Smith," Martha explained. "You're called the Doctor. The man in the journal, he's real. He's you."

Elizabeth sighed. "Martha, please stop with this. It's not real."

Martha reached into her other pocket and pulled out a small ring, holding it in front of Elizabeth's face. "Martha, where did you get that?" Elizabeth asked, distressed by the beautiful ring in front of her.

"Put it on, Elizabeth," Martha demanded. "Put it on."

Elizabeth did as she was told even though John started to protest. The ring slipped perfectly onto her left ring finger. The clear diamond glittered magnificently under the light. Since she and John had eloped years ago, she didn't have a wedding band on that finger, just the ring she now had on.

"You recognize this, don't you?" Martha asked, interested in Elizabeth's reaction.

"Martha, whose is this?"

"Yours."

John took Elizabeth's hand to look at the ring. "I didn't give her this, Martha. It can't be hers. Neither of us could afford to own such a thing."

Martha shrugged. "I have no clue why she owns this, but it's her most treasured item," she explained. "Well, not Elizabeth's, actually. Elizabeth isn't real."

Elizabeth had enough of Martha's cryptic tone. "Martha, what on earth is going on. John is John Smith, not this _Doctor_."

"John Smith is the Doctor," Martha countered, "Just like you, Elizabeth Smith, are the Duchess. The Doctor and the Duchess, they're _you_."

Before Elizabeth could argue back, there was a loud shout. "There will be silence. All of you!"

Elizabeth, John, and Martha turned to a man named Clark who was shouting as scarecrows entered the building. Elizabeth grabbed John's hand out of horror. There were sounds of fright all around them as the villagers became horrified as well.

"I said, silence!" Clark bellowed.

A farmer named Chambers approached Clark. "Mister Clark, what's going on?"

Clark pulled out a gun and shot Chambers. Instead of collapsing dead on the floor, Chambers's dead body vanished into thin air.

John pulled Elizabeth into his chest, horrified that she witnessed such a thing.

Martha turned to the couple. "Mister Smith? Ma'am? Everything I told you, just forget it," she hissed. "Don't say anything."

One of the boys from the school, Baines, stepped out of the crowd. "We asked for silence!" the hall went silent. Baines continued. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Sith and his wife."

The young girl standing next to him stepped forward. "No, better than that. The teacher, he's the Doctor. His wife, she's the Duchess. I heard them talking."

Baines cocked his head, examining the pair. "You took human form," he breathed in astonishment.

John held Elizabeth closer to him in a vain attempt to protect her. "Of course we're human. We were born human, as were you Baines," he protested. "And Jenny," he said to Jenny, "and you, Mister Clark," he said to Clark. "What's going on? This is madness!"

Baines snorted. "Ooh, and a human brain too! Simple, thick and dull."

"But they're no good like this," Jenny complained.

Clark nodded in agreement. "We need the Time Lords."

Baines smirked. "Easily done."

Baines stepped forward, raising his ray gun. "Change back," he barked.

Elizabeth spun around in John's arms to see a gun pointed at both her and John. "We don't know what you're talking about!" she pleaded.

"Change back!"

John wrapped his arms tighter around Elizabeth. "I literally do not know," he said, but was interrupted by Jenny grabbing Martha and putting a gun to her head.

Martha struggled in vain. "Get off me!"

Jenny's mouth twisted into a villainous smile. "She's your friend, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you two enough to change back?"

"Please," Elizabeth whimpered, "we don't know what you mean!"

"Wait a minute," Jenny said. "The maid told me about Smith and his precious wife."

"Then let's have you," Clark barked. Before John could fight back, Elizabeth was ripped from his arms by Clark. Clark put a gun to Elizabeth's head.

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human?" Baines taunted. "Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them of you want us to kill? The maid or the Duchess? Your friend or your species? Your choice."

* * *

><p>Elizabeth struggled under Clark's vice-like grip, but it was to no avail; he was quite formidable and burly whereas she was petite and willowy.<p>

"John, please don't do anything," she begged, pleading him into pacifism with her eyes. "You can't bargain with crazy people."

"Make your decision, Mister Smith," Jenny cackled, her face twisting into a grotesque imitation of the mirth that used to color Jenny's face before she went insane.

John looked between Martha and Elizabeth with a torn, pained look on his normally sweet face. All Elizabeth could think about was why this was happening to them. She hadn't done anything particularly nasty to incur wrath of this sort, so surely she didn't deserve for this to happen.

Not on this night in particular. This night was supposed to be special for an entirely different reason.

"Perhaps if their human hearts break," Baines pondered sadistically, "the Time Lord and Lady will emerge."

Clark pressed the gun into her head and John cried out in horrified anguish. "Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, expecting to meet her parents in the afterlife once she opened them once more.

But nothing came; everything had gone silent.

The gun no longer pressed against her temple and she cautiously opened her eyes to see what caused the lull.

Baines held his hand in front of him, gesturing for silence. He sniffed the air. "It's him!" he declared with exhilaration Elizabeth had never seen in him before.

Taking advantage of the temporary diversion, Martha snatched the gun from Jenny, using Jenny's body as a shield as she aimed the gun at Baines. "All right!" she roared. "One more move and I shoot."

Baines sneered at the housemaid. with an equal mixture of condescension and amusement. "Oh, the maid is full of fire."

Martha pitched the gun to the ceiling and fired. "And you can shut up!"

"Careful, son of mine," Clark warned gruffly behind Elizabeth, his breath prickling the hairs on her neck, "this is all for you so that you can live forever."

"Shoot you down!" Baines snarled wildly, looking at Martha as if she were prey.

"Try it," Martha retorted, "We'll die together."

"Martha, please," Elizabeth whimpered, she couldn't see her friend die because of her foolish confidence.

Baines cocked his head at Martha. "Would you really pull the trigger? You look too scared…"

Martha shrugged. "Scared and holding a gun's a good combination. Do you want to risk it?"

Reluctantly, the family lower their guns.

Elizabeth burst out of Clark's grip and ran into John's arms. John kissed her on the forehead, smoothing the hair on the top of her head, trying to comfort her and to stop her violent trembling.

Martha turned to John urgently. "Doctor, get everyone out. There's a door at the side. It's over there," she commanded, pointing in the direction of the door.

John hesitated, not wanting to further provoke the mad people, but also not wanting to keep his wife in danger any longer than was necessary.

"Go on, do it, Mister Smith," Martha urged desperately, "I mean, _you_."

Elizabeth looked up at John, "Do what she said, tell everyone to get out now. I want to get out of here, John." She felt his arms slacken slightly around her body. "Please, John," she begged.

John set his jaw in determination and turned to the crowd of terrified villagers. "Everyone out, now! Don't argue, Mister Jackson. They're mad; that's all we need to know."

Elizabeth, holding onto John's hand for comfort, turned to a group of women who were refusing to move from their table. She doubted their legs were stable enough to support their weight. "Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you."

Slowly but surely, the villagers ran out of the dance hall into the cold November night. The dancehall was quiet once more.

John and Elizabeth remained behind, unsure about what to do next. Even though John was harsh to Martha earlier, he felt guilty about treating her in such a manner, especially when she was willing to save his and Elizabeth's lives.

"And you," Martha coaxed the couple, "go on. Just go."

"What about you?" Elizabeth asked with a wavering voice. "I can't leave without you, Martha!"

Martha closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to get ahold of her emotions. Being sentimental wouldn't do them any good right now. "Mister Smith, I think you should escort your wife to safety, don't you?"

John nodded in agreement and led Elizabeth outside of the hall; there was a small group just outside, despite being told to go home to safety.

"Mister Hicks," John called, spotting the man, "warn the village. Get everyone out."

Elizabeth ran over to her favorite student, Timothy Latimer. "Timothy! are you alright?"

Timothy nodded up at Elizabeth, wonder in his eyes. Before she could ask him what the matter was, John joined them. "Latimer! Tell the headmaster!" he said, placing his arm on the boy's shoulder.

Timothy shrugged his arm off. "Don't touch me! You're as bad as them!" he said in an outburst quite unlike himself.

"Timothy!" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise. Timothy ran off in the direction of the school.

Martha ran out of the dance hall towards Elizabeth and John. "Don't just stand there, move!" she shouted at them. "God, you're both rubbish as humans. Come on!"

John grabbed Elizabeth's arm as the three of them ran towards the school.

* * *

><p>John slammed the school's main doors behind them. Elizabeth handed him the alarm bell and he started ringing it throughout the hall, trying to wake everyone up to prepare for battle.<p>

"What are you doing?" Martha yelled.

"I'll get the younger boys," Elizabeth said, running off in the direction of the youngest students' dormitories. She was afraid they wouldn't know what to do since they hadn't been in school all that long and most likely missed their mums.

"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together," John explained resolutely. "Take arms! Take arms!"

Martha tried to stop him. "You can't do that!"

"You want me to fight, don't you?" John retorted. "Take arms! Take arms!"

* * *

><p>Having woken up the youngest boys and told them to gather in the front hall, dressed, Elizabeth ran back to her husband. John stood in front of the group of students, passing out guns of various types.<p>

Martha stood next to him, protesting loudly. "You can't do this, Doctor. _Mister Smith!"_

"Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard," John commanded Nurse Redfern who had just returned to the front hall from assisting in another part of the school. John turned to the group of boys. "Faster now. That's it!"

Elizabeth stood next to John, taking his arm. "They're just boys, John. You can't ask them to fight. They don't stand a chance," she pleaded. "The youngest ones are absolutely terrified."

John looked sorrowfully at her, feeling guilty at having to disappoint his wife. "They're cadets, Ellie. They're trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties."

Just then Headmaster Rocastle entered the room. "What in thunder's name is this?" he thundered, looking at the panic and preparation surrounding him. "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain _very simply_ and _immediately_ what is going on?"

"Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack."

"Really? is that so?" Rocastle asked curtly. "Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

John shook his head, standing his ground. "No, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with my wife. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mister Clark from Oakham Farm."

Nurse Redfern nodded, having seen it all happen from the other side of the dance hall. She had attended with a couple of her close acquaintances from the village. "They've gone mad, sir. They've got funs. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

"Mrs. Smith, is that so?" Rocastle asked Elizabeth who was shaking from behind John. She hadn't been able to stop trembling since the gun was held to her head.

"I'm afraid it's true, sir," she stuttered.

"Murder on our own soil?"

"I saw it, yes."

Rocastle commended John. "Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith. What makes you think the danger's coming here?"

"Well, sir they said," John started, but was interrupted by Elizabeth's shaky, but insistent voice.

"Baines threatened my husband and me, sir, said he'd fall us. We don't know why," she confessed.

Rocastle thought for a moment. "Very well," he conceded reluctantly. "You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

Martha tried to block his exit. "No! but it's not safe out there!"

"Mister Smith," Rocastle addressed John, "it seems your favorite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir."

Rocastle and Philips left. Martha turned to John and Elizabeth. "I've got to find those watches."

Elizabeth ran after Martha as she left the room. "Wait, Martha!" Elizabeth called, catching up to her. "Let me help you."

The two women ran as fast as they could through the school. Along the way, Nurse Redfern, now insisting to be called Joan since everything was going to hell, joined them. When they entered John and Elizabeth's room, Elizabeth shrieked when she saw the damage as they stepped over the mess.

"Martha, what is going on?" Elizabeth asked, picking up the handkerchief she had been embroidering. It seemed like forever that she and John had fought over the silly thing.

"I know it sounds mad," Martha conceded, "but when you and the Doctor became human, you took the alien part of yourselves and stored it inside two watches. They're not really watches; they just look like watches."

"Aliens," Joan repeated. "I take it alien means not from abroad."

Martha looked at Elizabeth sympathetically. She could almost see the gears working in Elizabeth's little human brain. "You two were born on another world."

"A different species."

"Yeah."

Elizabeth scrunched her brow in thought. "Then tell me. In this fairytale, who are you?"

"To the Doctor, just a friend. I'm not…" Martha broke off, unsure how to put it to not upset Elizabeth. "I mean, you haven't got a rival, as much as I might. Just a friend."

"And to me, if I am what you say I am?" Elizabeth inquired.

Martha shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not quite sure, I only just met the Duchess… you. I hope to be friends."

"And you're a human, I take it?" Joan asked.

Martha chuckled. "Human. Don't worry. And more than that, I just don't follow them around. I'm training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine."

"Well that certainly is nonsense," Joan commented. "Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of your color."

"Joan, that's rude," Elizabeth scolded.

"Oh, do you think?" Martha hissed, raising her hand. "Bones of the hand: carpal bones, proximal row: scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform. Distal row: trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges. Proximal, middle distal."

"You read that in a book," Joan accused.

"Yes!" Martha exclaimed exasperatedly, "to pass my exams."

Elizabeth sighed and surveyed the mess of the room, "I don't know about all of this, Martha."

"Can't you see this is true?" Martha asked hesitantly.

"I must go," Elizabeth suddenly insisted. "John's probably looking for me."

Martha grabbed her arm. "If we find the watches, then we can stop them."

Elizabeth took Martha's hand off her arm. "These boys are going to fight. I might not be their mothers, but I'm the closest thing they have to one right now. They need me."

Elizabeth left Martha to find John, Joan following her out.

* * *

><p>Joan, Elizabeth and John met up in the hall downstairs; students and professors bustled around them, some carrying guns, others carrying large sand bags.<p>

"Joan, get Elizabeth out of here, it's not safe," John demanded gently. He attempted to put an arm around Elizabeth's shoulder, but she shrugged out of his embrace, feeling slighted that he wanted to get her out of the way so the men could take care of things.

"I'm doing my duty, just as much as you," Joan protested, feeling slighted as well.

"Fine evening we've had together," Elizabeth muttered sarcastically, her temper flaring up. She focused her glare on the floor as she began straightening a stack of parchment that was strewn all over the floor. The last thing anyone needed was a boy slipping on paper and spraining or breaking something as a result.

John frowned, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "No," he conceded, "not quite as planned, I fear."

Joan looked at John and Elizabeth, quelling the jealousy that she felt thinking about the two of them together. "Tell me about Nottingham," she inquired in a desperate attempt to focus on _anything _other than the inappropriate feelings she had for the professor.

"Pardon?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, "Did I miss something?"

"That's where you two lived before here, wasn't it?" Joan clarified. "Tell me about it."

John looked at the ceiling for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent, which flows from Stoke to the Humber."

"That sounds like an encyclopedia. Where did you live?" Joan insisted, turning to Elizabeth this time.

"Broadmoor Street, I think?" Elizabeth cocked her head to the side, not quite remembering it. She looked to her husband for help; he was always better than her at remembering things.

"Adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade," John confirmed.

"Elizabeth, why did you two come here?"

John's hand grabbed Elizabeth's, knowing she needed emotional support if she was going to answer the question. "John and I wanted to have a baby," Elizabeth explained with an expressionless look on her pallid face. "We thought we got lucky, but the baby didn't make it until it could be born. The doctor told us it would be a good idea for us to get some fresh air in the countryside."

Joan shook her head, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "But more than facts! Tell me how you two felt losing a child? How did it hurt? Did you blame yourselves or nature or God, what? Tell me, _please_, just tell me."

John's mouth hung agape as he stared at Joan with outrage. "How can you think we're not real?"

Joan continued to shake her head, her hand over her mouth in sad realization.

"Let's go," John muttered in vexation, pulling Elizabeth away with him.

"Elizabeth was right about one thing though," Joan said quietly, stopping them. "Those boys, they're children. Elizabeth knows it's wrong. John Smith wouldn't want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I was getting to know, he knows it's wrong, doesn't he?"

Rocastle called for John once more, preventing John from answering the question both women wanted so desperately to hear the answer to.

"What choice do I have?" John replied, dropping Elizabeth's arm and storming out to Rocastle, leaving his wife with the Matron.

"Elizabeth, before he comes back, I want to give you something," Joan whispered gravely to Elizabeth, pulling John's dream journal out from her dress.

Elizabeth took it into her hands, turned it over and then stashed it away in the folds of her skirt. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because, I need you to read it. He doesn't mention you in here at all. He mentions other women, but not you. Toward the end, he writes about a woman called the Duchess, but he talks about her like he barely knows who she is anymore."

Elizabeth sighed and looked out the window, setting her jaw. "Thank you."

Elizabeth could only watch from the window as her husband instructed the boys to fire on the approaching group of scarecrows. She didn't know how she felt emotionally as she watched John, motionless, unable to pull the trigger.

After what seemed like ages, the boys stopped shooting. The young Cartwright girl approached instead, innocent balloon bouncing in the air above her.

Elizabeth turned away from the window momentarily. "Joan, look!" she called, gesturing at the scene below.

Joan dropped the book she was leafing through absently and ran to the window. "My Lord," she breathed in horror. "We have to go warn him!"

Elizabeth agreed. The two women ran out of the room, through the school, coming to a hasty stop next to John.

John widened his eyes at Elizabeth's arrival. "You're supposed to be inside!" he hissed at her. Elizabeth ignored him, watching the headmaster approach the girl.

Rocastle called out to the girl. "You, child. Come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here, come to me."

"Mister Rocastle! Please, don't go near her," Martha pleaded calmly, having come behind Elizabeth and John without being heard.

"You were told to be quiet," Rocastle hissed, glaring back at Martha.

"Just listen to her," Joan added, "She's part of it. Elizabeth, tell him."

Elizabeth sighed, hating to condemn a child, but knowing it was a child no longer. "I think that, I don't know, I think you should stay back, Headmaster."

"Mister Smith," Martha appealed to John for help.

"She was- she was with- with Baines in the village," John stuttered, catching Elizabeth's pleading look.

"Mister Smith, I've seen many strange sights in this night, but there is _no cause_ on God's Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir," Rocastle preached. He extended a hand to the girl, "Come with me."

The girl cocked her head to the side, examining Rocastle. "You're funny."

Rocastle cracked a faint smile. "That's right. Now take my hand."

"So funny," the girl repeated quietly. She raised a gun and vaporized the Headmaster, the same way the others had done in the village hall. "Now, who's going to shoot me? Any of you, _really?"_

Elizabeth grabbed John's hand in distress. "Stop this," she begged, tears welling in her eyes.

"Put down your guns."

"But sir, the Headmaster," Hutchison protested indignantly.

"I'll not see this happen. Not anymore. You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school," John ordered. "Hutchison, lead the way."

"But sir."

John rounded on him, his eyes blazing. "I said, lead the way!"

"Well, go on, then. Run!" Baines laughed tauntingly, firing his gun into the air.

"Come on!" Martha yelled, leading them inside.

The students ran throughout the school.

"Let's go, quick as you can!" John yelled to the boys, trying to make sure they ran to safety.

"Don't go to the village!" Martha added. "It's not safe!"

John turned to the three women by his side. "And you, ladies."

Joan shook her head, grabbing both Elizabeth's and Martha's hands in solidarity. "Not until we've got the boys out."

* * *

><p>Martha, John, and Elizabeth crouched motionless behind bushes, watching the school from afar. Joan had parted ways with them, wanting to tend to some of the boys who had gotten injured during all of the commotion.<p>

Clark stood outside the building with the others, shouting for the Doctor. Behind them stood a big blue box that didn't quite seem to Elizabeth to fit in with the time period; it was all very unsettling.

"Come back, Doctor, and bring the lovely Duchess, while you're at it!" Clark bellowed into the cold night air. "Come home. Come and claim your prize!"

"Out you come, Doctor and Duchess. Come to the Family!" Baines added.

"Time to end it now!" Jenny added, cackling shrilly.

Martha looked at Elizabeth and John. "You two recognize it, don't you?"

"Come out, Doctor and Duchess! Come to us!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, inhaling a painful, ragged breath. "I've never seen it in my life," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her body for warmth and comfort.

Martha appealed to John instead of pushing Elizabeth further; she didn't know how much the human form of the Duchess would be able to take without snapping in a way very much like her Time Lady counterpart would. "Do you remember its name?"

"Wait!" Elizabeth said, pulling out his dream journal. She had flipped through it when no one was looking. "I'm sorry, John, but you wrote about it. The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box."

John shook his head. "I'm not- I'm John Smith!" he exclaimed sadly. "And she's my wife, Elizabeth Smith! That's all I want to be! John Smith, with his life, and his job, and his love. Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?"

"Yes, he is," Elizabeth cried, gathering him into her arms. "Just like I know I am a good woman. I want to stay like this forever. Martha, can't we stay like this forever?"

"You can't," Martha conceded.

A few tears stole down Elizabeth's cheeks, which she wiped away rapidly. "But we were supposed to try to have a baby again."

"But we need the Doctor and the Duchess."

"What are we then?" John burst out, emotions finally getting the best of him. "Nothing. We're just a story."

John stood up, lifting Elizabeth with him. "Let's go," he said, pulling her through the woods, away from Martha.

* * *

><p>Martha caught up with them. "This way," she led, "I think I know somewhere we can hide."<p>

"We've got to keep going!" John argued with Martha, wanting to go a different way from the one she suggested.

"John, just listen to her for once!" Elizabeth advised curtly, pulling him in the direction Martha ran off.

They continued through the woods until they came upon a dark cottage in a small clearing.

"Here we are. It should be empty," Martha guessed, opening the cottage's front door and peering in.

Elizabeth came up next to her. "But who lives here?"

"If I'm right," Martha said, "no one."

The group entered the cottage. At first everything was dark, but then their eyes adjusted to the lack of natural light so they could see. There was a table in the center of the room set up for tea.

"Hello?" Martha called out. Receiving no answer, "No one's home. We should be safe here."

"Whose house is it?" John inquired, looking around. Exhausted, Elizabeth took a seat at the table.

"The Cartwright's," Martha answered, sitting down as well. "The little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright, or she's taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon, and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then they were vanished."

John faced Martha and Elizabeth, looking directly into Elizabeth's eyes for strength. "I must go to them, before anyone else dies."

"You can't, at least not without me. They said they wanted the both of us, didn't they?" Elizabeth protested, standing up and taking her husband's hand in desperation. "Martha, there must be something else we can do."

Martha shook her head. "Not without the watches."

John sighed with frustration. "You're this Doctor's companion. Can't you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?"

Martha looked down, avoiding their interrogatory stares. "Because he's lonely."

"And that's what you want me to become?" John retorted. "Where does that leave Elizabeth?"

Before Martha could answer, there was a timid knock at the door.

Elizabeth's eyes widened in fear. "What if that's them?"

Martha stood and walked half-way to the door. "I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock."

Martha opened the door, revealing Timothy Latimer.

"I brought you this," he said, handing Martha two fob watches.

Martha took the watches and brought them to Elizabeth and John. "Hold them."

John backed away, raising his hands up in protest. "I won't."

"Please, just hold them, both of you," Martha entreated, thrusting the fob watches out in their direction once more, hoping with all of her might that they would listen to her for once.

Timothy shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stood rigidly in front of the couple. "They told me to find you two. They want to be held," he said referring to the fob watches.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the boy. "You've had the watches all this time? Why didn't you return them?"

"Because they were waiting," Timothy explained, "and because I was so scared of the Doctor and the Duchess."

"Why?"

"The Doctor," Timothy started, addressing John, "I've seen him. He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it!" John pleaded horrified.

"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop it! I said stop it!"

Timothy ignored him. "And he's wonderful," he finished, before turning to Elizabeth, "yet he's nothing compared to the Duchess, the Doctor's anomaly. She's not even his; she stays through the darkness and quits the drums."

Elizabeth stood motionless, captivated by the words being said.

"In her name, galaxies would implode, civilizations would burn, and the fabric of the universe would be torn apart. She's the only one the Master would bow to, and yet she's the kindest of them all."

"That's absurd!" John cried out, throwing his hands in the air and pacing around the small cottage.

"I can prove it all," Martha added, "I just need to find the dream journal."

" I have it," the other woman murmured. Elizabeth numbly pulled the journal out of her skirt and handed it to Martha. John cradled her in his arms; she didn't react to the gesture at all.

"Ellie?" John asked, hurt by her dismissal.

Martha held the journal to them. "Everything in this is true."

"Those are just stories," John countered.

Elizabeth laid her head against John's chest in submission. "Now, we know that's not true. Perhaps there's something in there to help."

Outside there was a loud bang, shaking the cottage.

"What the _hell?_" Martha yelled, running to the window. John and Elizabeth followed suit.

Fireballs were falling from the heavens, colliding with the earth in violent explosions.

"They're destroying the village!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Ellie, the watches," John murmured, reminding them that they could potentially stop everything if they just opened the watches.

"John, I don't want to!" Elizabeth protested meekly, not wanting to hear the whisperings coming from the watch she was holding.

"Can't you hear it?" Timothy asked.

"I think he's asleep, waiting to awaken," John said, referring to his watch.

"Why did they speak to me?"

"Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing," John rifled unconsciously, freezing in terror once he realized what had happened. "Is that how he talks?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes impatiently. "Of course that's how he talks, Doctor. No need to be an absolute fool along with an idiot. I swear, sometimes I'm glad I broke our engagement and you married someone else; you can be absolutely insufferable at the best of times!" she complained in exasperation, before slapping a hand over her mouth in horror. "Oh, John, I don't know where that came from!"

Martha grinned. "That's them! All you have to do is open the watches and they're back!"

"You knew this all along, and yet you watched while Elizabeth and I," John accused, trailing off in anguish that his life wasn't real.

"I didn't know how to stop you two," Martha admitted guiltily. "The Doctor gave me a list of things to look out for, but that wasn't included. The Duchess wanted a longer list, but the Doctor said there wasn't enough time."

"Falling in love with each other and starting a family? That wasn't on the list?" Elizabeth exclaimed in an aghast tone.

"No."

"Then what sort of people are they?" John asked. "And now you expect us to die?"

"It was always going to end, though!" Martha argued defensively. "The Doctor and the Duchess said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, she said. And two Time Lords, well," Martha chuckled darkly, "all the better for them Family."

"So your job was to execute us," Elizabeth accused angrily.

"People are dying out there. They need them and I need them. Because neither of you know what they're like. I've only just met them; it wasn't even that long ago. But he's everything. While I don't really know her, he is everything to me and he doesn't even look at me. But I don't care because I love him to bits," Martha confessed. "And I hope to God neither of them will remember me saying this."

There was an explosion just outside the cottage. "It's getting closer."

* * *

><p>The Family of Blood gathered in their spaceship, plotting about how to convince or compel the Doctor and the Duchess to give them their lives.<p>

Baines paced methodically. "We'll blast them into dust, then fuse the dust into glass, then shatter them all over again," he planned.

At that moment the objects of their desires bumbled into the spaceship like a mouse into a trap.

John and Elizabeth looked at the interior of the spaceship in wonder.

"Stop the bombardment, that's all I'm asking," John pleaded with the aliens desperately. "I'll do anything you want, just, just stop."

"_We'll_ do anything," Elizabeth corrected meaningfully, earning a hard look from her husband.

Baines stepped closer to the humans, a smirk twisting his face cruelly. "Say please."

Elizabeth looked at Baines with desperation. "Please," she begged.

Jenny pulled a lever on the ship, activating some type of control. "Wait a minute," she said, moving closer to John and Elizabeth. She took a large sniff of the air around Elizabeth and then did the same to John, before she turned to face the other aliens. "Still humans."

"Now I can't- I can't pretend to understand, not for a second, but I want you to know we're innocent in this," John asserted, pulling Elizabeth closer to him for emphasis. "He made me John Smith."

"And she made me Elizabeth Smith," Elizabeth added. "It's not like we had any control over this."

As Elizabeth's body blocked the Family of Blood's view of John, he reached behind him and pressed more switches haphazardly.

Jenny cackled, enjoying the spectacle. "They didn't just make themselves humans. They made themselves idiots!"

Baines roared with laughter at the statement. "Same thing isn't it?"

Elizabeth stood her ground to the aliens. "I don't care about this Doctor nor this Duchess nor your family for that matter. I just want you to go," she confessed. "So I've made my choice, for both of us. You can have them. Just take it please! Take them away!"

Elizabeth held out both of the fob watches to the Family.

Baines took the watches into one hand. "At last," he breathed, his eyes wide with wonder as he gazed at the watches.

It seemed like John and Elizabeth had dodged a bullet, but Baines suddenly burst forward and grabbed onto Elizabeth's shoulders forcefully. "Don't think that saved you life," he growled at her.

"Nor yours," he added in John's direction as he pushed Elizabeth back to her husband. Elizabeth bumped into John, pushing him against more switches, which activate under the pressure.

Baines turned toward the others. "Family of Mine, now we shall have the lives of two Time Lords!"

With all of the theatricality he could muster, Baines opened the fob watches. The Family of Blood inhaled deeply.

Baines froze. "They're empty!" he cried angrily.

John screwed his face up in confusion as he looked at Elizabeth. "Where've they gone?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders noncommittally.

"You tell me," Baines barked at John.

Baines threw the fob watches back to the humans and neither Elizabeth nor John caught them- the Duchess and the Doctor did.

"Oh, I think the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simply olfactory misdirection," the Doctor explained smugly. "Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose."

Oliviana smirked at the Family and began to circle them predatorily. "It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy, I'm assured."

The Doctor glanced at a device on the wall of the ship. "I don't like the looks of that hydroconometer," he observed. "It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilizers feeding back into the primary heat converters."

Oliviana laughed snidely at the assessment of the dire situation. "Yes, if there's one thing you shouldn't have done, you shouldn't have let him press all those buttons. He _loves _buttons."

The Doctor made a face in agreement with that fact; he _did_ love pressing buttons. "But, in fairness," he continued, "I will give you one word of advice. Run."

The Doctor seized Oliviana's hand and pulled her out of the spaceship as alarms started going off.

* * *

><p>They never raised their voices; <em>that<em> was the worst thing- the fury of the Time Lord and Lady- and then we discovered why.

Why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, and this Duchess, who hadn't lived enough of her life yet, why they'd run away from us and hidden. They were being kind.

He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heat of a dwarf star; _she_ tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there forever.

He still visits my little sister once a year, every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is.

Can you see?

She trapped her inside of a mirror, every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's _aways _her.

As for me, I was suspended in time. And the Doctor and Duchess put me to work standing over the field of England, as their protector.

We wanted to live forever, so the Doctor and the Duchess made sure we did.


	18. Utopia: Part I

**A/N: I'd like to thank the reviewer, Emilie, for the lovely review!**

Martha paced around the console room aimlessly as the Doctor and Oliviana examined different parts of the console, checking to make sure it didn't sustain too much damage from her encounter with the weeping angels.

"So," Martha drawled, attempting to make small-talk once more, knowing full well the Time Lady had been explicitly opposed to it, "are the two of you not, you know, a thing anymore?"

The Doctor pulled his head up and shot her a confused look. "A _thing?_ What _thing?_ There are no _things_."

Oliviana rolled her eyes and flipped a lever. "Oh, Lord, _no_, been there, done that long ago, Martha."

Martha nodded and Oliviana and the Doctor felt relieved that line of questioning had stopped. That is, until Martha spoke again. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a woman being independent and all, but you two wanted to have a child together!"

The Doctor cleared his throat uncomfortable and took off his glasses to wipe them, a nervous habit he developed in this version of himself. "Well, no not us exactly," the Doctor explained carefully, not wanting to upset either woman on board, "our human versions did."

"Yes, definitely not us," Oliviana added with a mortified look on her face.

"Why not?" Martha inquired, making Oliviana swear in Gallifreyan out of frustration at the conversation's persistence. "The Doctor's quite the catch, in my opinion."

Oliviana raised her eyebrows and smirked at the human, amused. "Exactly my point, Martha Jones- in your opinion."

The Doctor hastily put the glasses back onto his face. "Besides, the Duchess is spoken for already."

"What?" Martha exclaimed in astonishment.

Oliviana rolled her eyes. "First," she stated, counting her fingers out, "I have a diamond ring on my finger, Martha. On both of our worlds it means the same thing."

"Yes, a wandering Time Lady had introduced that tradition to the earth," the Doctor added. "Quite poorly, I must admit though since the Earth lacks white point star diamonds."

"Second," Oliviana continued, although she agreed with the Doctor on this point, "if you," she pointed at the Doctor, "could never bring that piece of information up again, it would still be too soon to bring it up."

The Doctor looked at the Time Lady with concern etched in his face, but Oliviana turned her back to him, not wanting to discuss it further.

"Doctor, we should really refuel soon," Oliviana warned, changing the subject abruptly. Thankfully, the others on the TARDIS picked up on it and followed suit.

"Yes, it would seem that you're right."

"Where's the nearest source?" Oliviana asked, positioning herself in front of the navigation unit.

* * *

><p>"Cardiff," the Doctor smiled, having landed the TARDIS relatively safely. Oliviana swore at him the entire time they were in the Time Vortex, but that was to be expected.<p>

"Cardiff?" Martha repeated in bewilderment.

Oliviana sighed and threw herself into one of the seats around the console.

"As, but the thing about Cardiff," the Doctor mused, "it's built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault, but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."

"So… it's a pitstop."

"Really, Martha, try not to sound so _human_," Oliviana groaned, sulking further into her seat.

The Doctor ignored the moodiness of Oliviana once more. "Martha, it's exactly like a pitstop. Should only take twenty seconds. The rift's been active."

Martha thought for a moment and Oliviana watched the gears slowly turn in her brain. "Wait a minute," Martha finally exclaimed, they had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?"

Oliviana laughed and looked at the Doctor, once more in a better mood. She apparently derived great pleasure from the Doctor's troubles.

The Doctor swallowed. "Bit of trouble with the Slitheen," he conceded bashfully, knowing Oliviana was judging him for it, "a long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then."

"Oh, you could most definitely say that again," Oliviana muttered.

The Doctor looked at Oliviana with an undecipherable look and then checked the status of the TARDIS. "Finito! All powered up."

The Doctor peered into the scanner momentarily before powering up the rotor. There was a loud bang on the console, making all three of them jump.

"What the hell did you manage to do this time?" Oliviana accused angrily, jumping out of her seat to look at the console.

"What was that?" Martha questioned, turning to the Doctor.

The Doctor and Oliviana stared at the scanner in horror. "We're accelerating into the future," the Doctor breathed. "The year one billion, five billion, five trillion, _fifty_ trillion. What? The year one hundred trillion? That's impossible."

"That's so you, though," Oliviana deadpanned.

"What happens then?"

Oliviana turned to the Doctor's companion with a forced smile on her face, "The Doctor has decided to take us to the end of the universe."

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the TARDIS landed shortly thereafter. Between the TARDIS's console and the occupants, the only thing bruised was perhaps the Doctor's ego. Oliviana made sure that took a beating.<p>

"Well," the Doctor observed blankly, "we've landed."

Martha looked towards the door. "So what's out there."

"I don't know."

"Say that again," Oliviana demanded sarcastically, "that's rare."

"Do you know what's out there?" Martha asked Oliviana this time.

Oliviana scoffed and shook her head, "Not even the Time Lords came this far."

"We should leave," the Doctor said slowly. "We should go. We should really, really go."

"First time you've been right, Doctor," Oliviana remarked.

The Doctor and Martha grinned with excitement as they each grabbed one of Oliviana's arms, hauling her to the door.

The land was dark and barren and there was nothing to be seen for miles around. Nothing, except for the incredibly handsome man on the ground that immediately caught Oliviana's attention.

Oliviana walked over to the man and watched as Martha ran over to help him.

"Can't get a pulse," she yelled frantically. "Hold on! You've got that medical kit thing."

Martha ran into the TARDIS.

The Doctor stood next to Oliviana and looked down at the man. "Hello, again," he said to the man, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Oliviana looked at him, "Is that how all Earth doctors act? Like the sky is falling down? I thought they would have more composure than that."

"_Oliviana, just stop,"_ the Doctor warned her in Gallifreyan for emphasis.

Martha returned carrying a large medical kit. "Here we go, get out of the way. It's a bit odd though," she observed as she worked on the man, "not very hundred trillion. That coat's more like World War Two."

Oliviana knelt down next to the man and put his head on her lap so that she could focus on the time energy around him. Definitely not from the year one-hundred trillion. "I think he came with us, actually."

Martha looked at Oliviana in confusion. "How do you mean, from Earth?"

Before Oliviana had the chance to make a snippy comment, the Doctor answered. "Must have been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex… Well, that's very him."

"What, do you know him?" Martha asked, but Oliviana was also interested in the answer.

The Doctor nodded solemnly. "Friend of mine, used to travel with me, back in the old days."

"But he's," Martha broke off sadly, moving away from the man, "I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead."

While Martha screamed when the man suddenly gasped for air, Oliviana smirked and narrowed her eyes at the spectacle. The Doctor frowned.

Oliviana brushed back the hair from the man's face. "Just breathe deep," she coaxed, "I've got you."

The man smiled devilishly up at the Time Lady. "Captain Jack Harkness," he purred, "And who are you?"

"You may call me the Duchess," Oliviana shot back in the same way, winking for emphasis, "Captain Jack Harkness."

The Doctor groaned and looked up at the sky in frustration. "Oh, don't start."

"I was only saying hello!" Jack protested.

Oliviana helped him stand. "No, I think he was talking to me," she explained, before turning to the Doctor and adding, "_You do not control me, Theta Sigma_," in Gallifreyan.

Jack's jaw dropped as he stared between the two. "You're like him?"

Oliviana smirked and nodded.

Jack pursed his lips and turned to the Doctor. "Doctor."

The Doctor stared at Jack. "Captain."

"Good to see you."

The Doctor nodded. "And you. Same as ever. Although have you had work done?"

Jack chuckled. "You can talk!"

Oliviana raised her eyebrows at the Doctor in amusement as he worked to figure out what Jack meant, but he managed to figure it out without her help this time. "Oh yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

"Was it the police box?" Oliviana asked Jack.

"Yeah," Jack drawled, "the police box _kind of_ gives it away. I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me."

"Did I?" the Doctor said rhetorically, averting his eyes from Jack's glare. "Busy life. Moving on."

Jack pursed his lips. "Just got to ask- the Battle of Canary Wharf, I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

"Oh no!" the Doctor exclaimed happily, "Sorry, she's alive."

Jack laughed out loud. "You're kidding!"

"Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey, and her mother."

"Yes!" Jack cried, hugging the Doctor.

Martha hung back around Oliviana. "Good old Rose," she muttered under her breath, causing Oliviana to furrow her eyebrows at Martha's reaction. Oliviana decided not to push it.

"Doctor, shouldn't we look around for signs of life or anything?" Oliviana asked as the Doctor and Jack broke apart.

The Doctor agreed and led them away from the TARDIS, walking aimlessly on the alien planet in the future.

Oliviana hurried her pace so she could walk next to Jack. She was still feeling the sting of Koschei's betrayal, and she thought a little harmless flirting with this Jack Harkness character was exactly what she needed to keep her mind off it.

"How did a handsome man such as yourself get left behind by the Doctor?" Oliviana teased.

Jack told her the summarized version of his last encounter with the Doctor. "So there I was, stranded in the year 200100, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me."

Oliviana's jaw dropped open as she smacked the Doctor's arm. "Doctor? How could you?"

"But I had this," Jack explained, pointing to the vortex manipulator on his wrist.

Thandel had shown Oliviana what one of those did, and she didn't like how it felt to travel by that. "Why on Earth would you have one of those?"

"I used to be a Time Agent."

Martha looked at the device questioningly. "What is it?"

"It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel," Jack joked, gesturing towards the Doctor.

"Oh excuse me," the Doctor fired back condescendingly, "that's not time travel. It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

Martha snorted. "Oh, ho, boys and their toys."

For once, Oliviana couldn't agree more with her sentiment.

Jack shrugged noncommittally. "Alright, so I _bounced_. I thought 21st century was the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless."

"Told you," the Doctor retorted triumphantly.

"I had to live through the _entire_ twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me," Jack accused.

Martha gaped at Jack. "But that makes you more than one-hundred years old."

Oliviana grinned and linked her arm through Jack's. "It _certainly_ does, doesn't it?"

"And looking good, don't you think?" Jack smirked down at Oliviana before continuing his story. "So I went to the time rift, based myself there because I knew you'd come back to refuel, until finally I get a signal on this, detecting you, and here we are."

"Doctor, how could leave this charming man behind?" Oliviana pouted, "I like him."

The Doctor glared at her. "I was busy."

"Is that what happens, though, seriously?" Martha interrupted defiantly. "Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde," Jack remarked, angering Martha further.

"Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise!"

The Doctor stopped walking and looked at the three of them indignantly. "We're at the end of the universe! Right at the edge of knowledge itself… and you're busy _blogging_! Come on."

They came upon a steep cliff face, overlooking a vast network of civilization of one kind that was no longer there anymore. Oliviana backed away from the cliff, remembering the last time she was near one, but clearing those thoughts from her mind.

"Is that a city?" Martha asked.

"A city, or a hive, or a nest, or a conglomeration. Like it was grown," the Doctor observed. "But look, there. That's like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago."

"What killed it?"

"Time," Oliviana muttered darkly, "just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations I learned about at the Academy have gone. This isn't just night; all the stars have burned up and faded away into _nothing_."

Jack nodded and looked to the sky above. "They must have an atmospheric shell," he supposed. "We should be frozen to death."

"Well, Martha, the Duchess, and I, maybe," the Doctor replied uneasily, "not so sure about you, Jack."

"What about the people?" Martha asked, staring in wonder at the empty remnants of long lost civilization below. "Does no one survive?"

The Doctor and Oliviana shared a hesitant glance; they knew it was more likely than not there was no survivors, not this close to the end of the universe.

Oliviana shrugged her shoulders at the Doctor, who then turned to reply to Martha. "I suppose we have to hope life will find a way."

"Well, he's not doing too bad," Jack observed, pointing to a human male running frantically through the city below.

Oliviana raised her eyebrow in partial amusement. "Is that me, or does that look like a hunt?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Come on!"

All four of them took off running towards the man. Everyone but Oliviana wanted to help the human; she was just in it for the fun of it all.

"Oh I've missed this," Jack laughed excitedly as they ran as fast as they could.

Within a few short moments, they met up with the fleeing human man. Jack grabbed onto him. "I've got you."

The man looked around him frightened and tried to struggle out of Jack's grip. "They're coming!" he protested, "They're coming!"

Jack pulled his revolver out and aimed it at the group of snarling tribespeople, who Oliviana assumed were an evolved form of human beings.

"Jack! Don't you dare!" the Doctor shouted angrily, having a thing against guns.

Jack thought for a moment and instead fired the gun into the air, scaring the tribespeople into a halt in front of them.

Martha examined the group with wide, frightened eyes. "What the _hell_ are they?

The man looked at the group wearily. "There's more of them. We've got to keep going."

The Doctor nodded. "I've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far; it's over there."

They looked in the direction where they left the TARDIS, but tribespeople blocked their path over the cliffs.

Oliviana snorted. "_Lovely."_

The Doctor pursed his lips. "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the silo," the man explained. "If we get to the silo, then we're safe."

"Silo?" the Doctor asked the group.

"Silo," Oliviana and Jack replied together.

"Silo works for me."

* * *

><p>On Gallifrey, Oliviana had only ran for her life once.<p>

Some young Time Lord children ran for their lives in reaction to looking into the Untempered Schism, but not Oliviana.

No, her first time fleeing from mortal danger had been when her brother was murdered before her eyes, and she would _end_ all of the barbarians if the humans at Silo 16 didn't open the gates.

"Open the damn gates!" Oliviana barked, hooking her slender fingers through the wire gate and shaking it for effect. For once, the Doctor didn't try to stop her aggression.

One of the silo guards shined a shaking light in their faces while the other one ordered them to show him their teeth.

The running human, Jack, Martha and the Doctor grimaced while showing the guards their teeth; Oliviana snarled, which showed them off as well, but in a more frightening manner which appealed to her. She was livid with this waste of time.

Satisfied, the two guards opened the gates, allowing them to pass by the group of men holding large guns on their way into the camp. At once, the guards began closing the gate. The one tasked with fastening the gate shut did so, but only after shooting at the ground in front of the Futurekind to ward them off.

The Futurekind became eerily silent and one with prominent tribal markings on his face took a commanding position in front of the others. "That one must be the chief," Oliviana whispered to Martha.

The chief of the Futurekind approached the gate. "Humans," he growled, walking back and forth in front of the gate predatorily, "_Humani_. Make feast." The chief pointed at himself to show who would be making the feast on the humans, like there was anyone else who would do it.

The guard held the gun close to his face, ready to shoot at any slight provocation. "Go back to where you came from."

The Futurekind advanced with hunger burning intensely in their eyes.

"I said, go back!" the guard commanded, "back!"

Jack narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. "Oh, don't tell _him_ to put _his_ gun down."

The Doctor shot Jack an indignant look. "He's not my responsibility."

"And I am?" Jack fired back. He laughed bitterly. "That makes a change."

The Futurekind chief pointed at the humans. "Kind watch you," he said. One of the Futurekind behind him made a noise that disgusted Oliviana. "Kind hungry."

No one, neither Futurekind nor human nor Time Lord, moved as both sides of the gate battled silently for dominance over the situation.

Those inside Silo 16 prevailed as the Futurekind stalked away into the darkness.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair in relief. "Thanks for that," he said to the guard.

The guard ignored him and walked to the building. "Right, let's get you inside." They followed him.

The man they saved fell in step with the guard. "My name is Padrafet Shafekane," he introduced tiredly. "Tell me, can you take me to Utopia?

Oliviana leaned closer to the Doctor and whispered to him in Gallifreyan. "_Utopia?"_

The Doctor shook his head unknowingly. "_Haven't the slightest. Something isn't right_."

The guard smiled at Padra, "Oh yes, sir. Yes I can."

The buildings doors opened and they were ushered into a dingy and dark area.

The guard turned to them all. "Right, so I was introduced to Padra, but I don't know who any of you are."

Jack stepped forward and extended a hand, a crooked smirk upon his face. "Captain Jack Harkness."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Stop it."

Jack was about to retort, but Martha interrupted him. "I'm Martha."

The guard looked to Oliviana. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest; she was bored already. "I'm the Duchess."

The guard raised his eyebrows. "The Duchess?"

Before Oliviana could make a nasty comment, the Doctor stepped in. "She's just the Duchess, and I'm just the Doctor."

"Right," the guard drawled with uncertainty, "if you're a Doctor, then what are you a Doctor of?"

Oliviana snorted at the guard's attempt to seem clever.

"Everything," the Doctor replied smugly.

The guard was quiet for a moment, and then told another guard to inform a "Professor Yana" about this new guest.

"Doctor," Oliviana said, moving closer to him, "I want to leave this place. Something doesn't feel right about it."

The Doctor nodded in agreement; something was _definitely_ wrong with this place, but unlike Oliviana, he actually wanted to find out what was wrong with it. "Have you seen my TARDIS?" he asked the guard.

"Your what?" the guard asked.

"It looks like a box, a big blue box," Oliviana explained as if she were speaking to a child. Compared to a Time Lord, a human practically was a child.

"Sorry about her," the Doctor apologized. "I really need it back. It's stuck out there."

Padra changed the subject, "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafekane. My brother is Beltone."

"The computers are down but you can check the paperwork," the guard replied curtly. "Creet!"

A small boy stuck his head around a corner. Oliviana thought he looked cherubic with his impossibly blond, curly hair and innocent, chubby face.

"Passenger needs help," the guard instructed Creet.

Creet smiled at Padra. "Right, what d'you need?"

Padra went over to Creet to look at the clipboard. The Doctor and Oliviana were approached once more by the guard. "A blue box, you said," he addressed Oliviana.

She rolled her eyes as she repeated herself more slowly, "Big, tall, wooden," she drawled sarcastically, "says "Police."

The guard nodded, unfazed by her attitude; the Doctor was impressed. "We're driving out for a last water collection. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," the Doctor replied.

Martha approached Creet. "Sorry, but how old are you?"

Creet grinned, "Old enough to work." Oliviana decided she liked him. "This way!"

Martha, Padra, Jack, the Doctor, and Oliviana followed young Creet through the dirty corridors. People with nothing but hope in their eyes lined the corridors. Oliviana had never seen so many humans in one place before.

"Kistane Shafekane," Creet called through the people as he led the group further into the Silo. "Kistane and Beltone Shafekane?"

"The Shafekanes, anyone?" Padra added, hopefully. Creet continued to call for the family.

"It's like a refugee camp," Martha breathed.

Jack scrunched his nose as he looked over the people. "Stinking," he said as he passed a large human who glowered at him. "Oh, sorry," he told the man, "no offense."

The Doctor was gleeful as he walked down the corridor. "Don't you see that?" he called out excitedly. "The ripe old smell of humans. You survived," he said to Martha and Jack. "Oh much better than a million years evolving into clouds of gas. And then another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape."

Oliviana snorted. "The _fundamental_ humans."

"End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable!" the Doctor exclaimed, paying no attention to the moody Time Lady beside him. "That's the word! Indomitable!" he laughed exuberantly.

"Is there a Kistane Shafekane?" Creet called out once more.

A woman stood up. "That's me."

Padra stepped forward and the woman gasped when their eyes caught.

"Mother?"

Kistane was speechless. "Oh, my God," she said finally. A man stood next to her.

"Beltone?" Padra gasped with tears in his eyes. He ran to embrace his family.

The group continued on. "It's not all bad news," Martha remarked to Oliviana, knowing she was waiting to make another pessimistic observation laced with the typical dosage of sarcasm.

Oliviana just stared at her.

The Doctor went to a door and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the keypad. "It's not going to open," Oliviana muttered to annoy him, turning away when he told her to stop it.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack purred, shaking an attractive human's hand, "and who are you?"

"Stop it," the Doctor warned. "Give us a hand with this."

Jack gives the human a last look up and down, accompanied by his dashing signature smirk, before letting his hand go and joining the group at the Doctor's side.

"It's half deadlocked, and he thinks his sonic screwdriver will open it," Oliviana filled Jack in on the situation."

"See if you can overwrite the code," the Doctor told Jack, who began to work on the keypad.

Much to Oliviana's amusement, the Doctor continued to aim his sonic screwdriver at the door.

Oliviana guessed the door opened due to Jack's efforts with the keypad more so than the Doctor's usage of a sonic device on a deadlocked door.

"Let's find out where we are," the Doctor said as he slid the door open and almost fell into the Silo as he galavanted inside without looking.

Jack grabbed the Doctor, preventing him from falling down the deep shaft. "Gotcha."

The Doctor pulled himself back through the door and dusted himself off from the assault to his ego. "Thanks."

"How did you cope without me?" Jack replied.

Martha pushed around Oliviana to look at the technological masterpiece inside. "Now, _that_ is what I call a rocket."

"They're not refugees," the Doctor said, finally realizing what was going on, "they're _passengers_."

Martha agreed. "He said they were going to Utopia."

"The perfect place. 100 trillion years, and it's still the same old dream," the Doctor said, turning to Oliviana. Something was wrong here. "Do you recognize those engines?"

Oliviana stared wordlessly at the rocket in front of her. The cogs in her brain were turning, but she couldn't register anything. It was like everything was escaping her.

Jack looked at Oliviana, deciding to answer for her. "Nope, whatever it is, it's not rocket science."

"No, it wouldn't be," Oliviana murmured wearily, staring down over the edge of the platform they stood on. "This doesn't make sense."

"But it's hot though," Jack added.

"Boiling," the Doctor agreed. They stepped back into the corridor and closed the door. "But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_It's simple, Oliviana," Thandel chuckled heartily, gazing affectionately down at his much-younger sister._

_Oliviana looked up from her essay to roll her eyes at her brother. "Of course it's easy for you, you teach the class, Thandel."_

_"__You know, if you took notes once in a while, maybe you would remember what I had said my lecture on Foundations of Comparative Philosophies of Level Five Civilizations."_

_Oliviana stared indignantly at him. "You're such a nerd," she mocked him, trying, but failing, to keep a smile from her face._

_Thandel smiled back at her and waited patiently for her to come up with an answer to her essay by herself. "You have to remember that every word's meaning changes over time. Not only because the people's interpretation of the meaning changes, but also because the people hearing the words hear it differently and thus interpret it differently."_

* * *

><p>Centuries ago, Oliviana hadn't understood what Thandel was trying to communicate to her, but now she understood it perfectly.<p>

"There's _no place_ like Utopia," Oliviana whispered.

The Doctor stared at her, his eyes widening in horror as Oliviana telepathically sent him the memory of Thandel helping her with her essay in Foundations of Comparative Philosophies of Level Five Civilizations.

"I refuse to believe that's happening here, Duchess," the Doctor replied curtly, turning from her just as an old man came running to their little group.

Oliviana took one look at the man and knew, she just _knew_, that she was right about Utopia.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_This is a Chameleon Arch," Thandel instructed the class, holding a headset and fob watch in his hands high so the young Gallifreyans could see. "Who can tell me what this particular device does?"_

_Oliviana cocked an eyebrow in amusement as the lecture hall remained silent for the umpteenth time that day. She smirked at her brother's exasperated expression and returned her attention to the doodle she was currently gracing her barely-used textbook with._

_Useless doodles were just much more interesting than another of her brother's riveting lectures on Gallifreyan technology that she would never need to use. Oliviana was destined for a simple life in the social realm, not the technological, academic, or adventurous realms. There was no need for information like this to bore her more than she already was._

_Thandel surveyed the hall once more, deciding that he would dismiss the class if there was no response in the next few minutes. His eyes fell on a solitary, raised hand. "Yes, Mister Oakdown."_

_Oliviana rolled her eyes, but didn't raise them to give Koschei attention, like some of the other females in her class were. Yes, he was attractive, but he wasn't the best thing to ever grace Time Lord society like some people thought he was._

_"__A Chameleon Arch rewrites the user's biology so that the user registers as another species," Koschei stated matter-of-factly before promptly sitting back in his seat._

_Thandel shot Oliviana a pointed look of approval of Koschei, but she missed it; Oliviana knew her brother did it though._

_"__Thank you, Mister Oakdown," Thandel replied, pacing to the other side of the lecture hall to get ahold of more attention. "Essentially, it allows the user to change their species. Can anyone tell me what else happens to the user after deployment of the Chameleon Arch?"_

_The room was silent and no one moved, except, of course, for Koschei's raised hand._

_"__Anyone other than Koschei?" Thandel called out, scanning the room for any eyes that met his. He raised his eyebrows as he spotted Oliviana desperately avoiding his gaze. "Oliviana, what do you remember from last night's reading on the Chameleon Arch?"_

_Oliviana narrows her eyes at her brother for a long moment before slamming her writing utensil down on her desk and standing up, her glare challenging her brother to see what happens if he tested her patience further. "Professor Everton," she replied dramatically in mocking, "after the user does, in fact, deploy the Chameleon Arch, their species is obviously different from the one that previously enjoyed._

_Smirking in her brother's direction, she moved to take her seat once more, but her brother questioned her further, not thrilled by her attitude. "That was a very erudite answer, Miss Everton," Thandel drawled sarcastically with a deadpan expression on his face. "Can you tell your fellow classmates what the purpose of the fob watch is?"_

_Oliviana set her jaw in frustration, not at all pleased that the entire lecture hall was now paying attention to the exchange between professor and student, brother and sister; if she weren't the one in this situation, she supposed watching such an exchange would be the height of hilarity._

_"__The purpose of the fob watch is to hold the user's biological information as well as the user's memories," Oliviana shot back. If her brother was trying to make her look like a fool in front of the lecture, she was determined to not fall into the trap._

_Thandel nodded and walked closer to her side of the hall. "And what remains of the user?"_

_Oliviana thought carefully for a moment, recalling exactly what her textbook had said on the matter; it was one of the few chapters she had actually read. "If the user is, for instance, a Time Lord, and they change into a human, they would forget their true Time Lord species," Oliviana replied. "They would have no knowledge of Gallifrey or Gallifreyan society, or the associated burdens of being a Time Lord and thus being able to see the whole of time and space. It would be as if a giant weight was lifted from their shoulders. The burden of their Gallifreyan existence would be removed, leaving in place their personality in pure, unburdened form."_

* * *

><p>From the moment she looked into the old man's eyes, she <em>knew<em> who he was. Yes, he currently was a human, but he was _always_ hers.

From the look on the Doctor's face as the man pulled him through the corridors of the Silo, Oliviana knew he was unaware of who this man was.

She followed intently, her head swimming with possibilities and doubts; perhaps it was wishful thinking clouding her judgment, making her believe that Koschei really wasn't dead.

The Doctor had told her that Koschei died on Gallifrey during the Last Great Time War, and she found herself believing him. Even though she and the Doctor were born around the same time, being in the same year at the Academy, _she_ had been left on Earth as a human while both Koschei and Theta Sigma had lived as the Doctor and the Master for many, many years. They were so much older than her, and Oliviana couldn't stop herself from trusting the judgment of someone as experienced, old, and well-traveled as the Doctor now was. She was just a child compared to him now.

The professor, who had introduced himself along the way, pulled the Doctor, followed by the rest of the group, into the laboratory.

The Doctor and Oliviana stood in front of a large, complicated looking machine as Professor Yana explained it."This is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's past it's age," he admitted, "but it should work."

The Doctor scrunched his eyebrows and examined the device. "Have you seen anything like this?" he appealed to the other Gallifreyan.

Oliviana shot him a look. "I've been a human for _who_ knows how long," she countered peevishly, her hearts beginning to ache as she realized how long she had been separated from Koschei, even if the separation was of his doing. "How am I supposed to know any of this? I was always awful with technology."

The Doctor stole a look around the laboratory as the professor moved hastily across the room to another device."And over here is the footprint impellor system," he explained to Oliviana and the Doctor who had migrated after him to look at the machine in the middle of the floor. "If you know anything about endtime gravity…"

Oliviana looked apologetically at Professor Yana, "I must admit I'm terrible at technology," she admitted.

Perhaps she could test whether or not the professor really was a human product of a Time Lord using a Chameleon Arch by dropping hints about her life on Gallifrey to see if he would pick up on them. Oliviana knew the chances of Koschei being behind Professor Yana really were slim if the Doctor was right about him dying on Gallifrey in the Time Way, but it couldn't hurt to just try.

She hated herself for thinking it, but she owed him that much, just a try.

Professor Yana glanced expectantly at the Doctor, who shrugged his shoulders; he knew nothing about endgame gravity, but in true Theta Sigma fashion, he would lie his way out. "Um… a little bit."

"It should work," the professor said, leaning on the machine tiredly, "but we can't get it to harmonize!"

"Ooh, that'll definitely make you know more about this," Oliviana commented as the Doctor pulled out his glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. She stood by the professor as the Doctor took a closer look at the machine.

Through the wires, the Doctor spotted Jack introducing himself to Chantho. The Doctor cocked one of his eyebrows in vexation. "Stop it," he warned.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?" Jack protested, his hand still connected to Chantho's.

Chantho giggled. "Chan- I do not protest- tho."

Jack smirked at her and winked. "Maybe later, Blue."

Oliviana moved to the center of the room, stopping under the cluster of dangling wires and tubes. "And all this feeds into the rocket?" she clarified, gesturing upwards.

"Oi!" the Doctor called out frantically, relocating himself next to her, the professor right behind him, "don't touch anything!"

"I'm not a child, Doctor," Oliviana snapped, crossing her arms childishly.

Professor Yana smiled compassionately at her, as if telling her to ignore the Doctor's remarks. "Yes," he replied to her question about the technology above their heads, "except without a stable footprint, we'll never achieve escape velocity… If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it."

Professor Yana paused and turned to the Doctor. "What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

The Doctor looked between the devices in the room, totally lost. "Well, um, basically… sort of… not a clue."

The professor stared at the Doctor with an indignant expression. "Nothing?"

The Doctor shook his head, his gaze flicking between the complicated technology all around the laboratory. "I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it, sorry."

Professor Yana looked dejected and turned away from the Doctor and Oliviana. "No, no, _I'm_ sorry," he conceded apologetically. "It's my fault; there's been so little help."

"You're used to building things on your own, aren't you?" Oliviana asked the professor.

Just as he was about to respond, Martha gasped from across the room. "Oh, my God!"

Sighing at the interruption, Oliviana followed them to the small sitting area where Martha currently was. Martha gaped at the Doctor, setting the enclosed Time Lord hand onto the table. "You'e got a hand," she breathed. "A hand in a jar… A hand in a jar… in your _bag_."

"That's, that's my hand!" The Doctor exclaimed.

Oliviana narrowed her eyes at Jack. "Why the hell do you have a Time Lord hand in your bag?"

Jack smirked down at the Doctor. "I said I had a Doctor detector."

Chantho looked between them, her expression one of half shock and half confusion. "Chan- is this a tradition amongst your people- tho?"

"Not on my street," Martha cried with disgust. "What d'you mean, that's your hand? You've got both your hands; I can see them."

The Doctor stared at his hand. "Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day in a sword fight."

"Oh, that'd _so_ you," Oliviana scoffed, turning to the professor to add, "he was always so dramatic when we all were young."

The professor looked at her blankly, but she knew that if the professor was indeed a Time Lord in hiding, then the gears in his head would start to turn.

"What?" Martha mocked in amusement, "and you grew another hand?"

"Um, yeah, yeah I did," the Doctor replied. "Yeah, hello." He waved his fingers at Martha to show her that his hand was, in fact, a functional hand.

Professor Yana stared at the Doctor, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Might I ask what species are you?"

"Time Lord, last of," the Doctor replied automatically, puffing his chest out proudly.

"Excuse me?" Oliviana butted in. "Don't forget your resident Time Lady."

"Sorry," the Doctor apologized to her. "We're the last of the Time Lords and Ladies, heard of them? Legend or anything?"

The Doctor was met with blank looks. "Not even a myth?" Oliviana asked with astonishment.

No one responded. "Blimey," the Doctor said, "end of the universe is a bit humbling."

"Chan- it is said that I am the last of my species too- tho," Chantho replied.

The Doctor turned to her as if noticing her presence for the first time. "Sorry, what was your name?" Oliviana almost snorted with how like him that was.

Professor Yana spoke up. "My assistant and good friend, Chantho, a survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

"The city outside, that was yours?" the Doctor asked Chantho.

Chantho nodded wistfully. "Chan- the conglomeration died- tho."

"Conglomeration! That's what I said!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Oliviana looked aghast and reprimanded him in Gallifreyan. "_You're supposed to say sorry!"_

Her usage of her native tongue was another metaphorical prod of the professor's subconscious, another dosage of Gallifrey to remedy his ignorance of his true self, if Oliviana was right.

She hoped so, so much that she was right.


	19. Utopia: Part II

Oliviana looked aghast and reprimanded him in Gallifreyan. "_You're supposed to say sorry!"_

The Doctor was reminded of how she used to scold him on Gallifrey whenever he had embarrassed himself during any social function they had to attend during their short engagement. She had a point this time, though; he should be more sensitive about being the last of a species. "Oh, yes, sorry."

"Chan- most grateful- tho," Chantho accepted his apology quickly, which is more than Oliviana would have done had she been in Chantho's position, but then again, Time Ladies used to be infamous for their volatile temper and affinity for holding grudges with life spans longer than those of most stars.

"You grew another hand," Martha remarked in a breathy voice, still fixated on the existence of the Doctor's amputated hand, much to Oliviana's chagrin.

"_Do not respond_," the Doctor dictated under his breath in Oliviana's direction, wanting to avert whatever snarky remark she was likely about to make. Getting to his feet, he stopped in front of Martha, waving his fingers in front of her in demonstration. "Hello again… it's fine. Look, really, it's me," he assured, shaking her hand for good measure.

Martha laughed timidly. "All this time, and you're still full of surprises."

The Doctor clicked his tongue and winked at Martha. Oliviana rolled her eyes. "_No wonder she's madly in love with you_," she teased. "_Can't tell you why, though, that bit's a mystery to me."_

While she had been engaged to the Doctor on Gallifrey prior to the Time War, Oliviana felt nothing for him beyond platonic companionship, but even that was a stretch. All of her feelings for him dies out _centuries_ ago, and the Doctor's personality, while mildly amusing at times, annoyed Oliviana the majority of the time she was around him.

If Martha wanted to adore the Doctor, then that was her problem, Oliviana thought. Been there, done that.

Sensing the Doctor's annoyance with the female, Chantho cut in. "Chan- you are most unusual- tho."

Oliviana scoffed. "That's certainly one way of putting it."

"Oi!" the Doctor cried, confronting the Time Lady, "you're of the same species, so you're 'most unusual' as well aren't you?"

She leered at him loftily. "No, darling, that would be just you."

"So what about those things outside, the Beastie Boys?" Jack asked, derailing the oncoming argument between the Time Lord and Lady; this was definitely neither the place nor the time for them to engage in a battle of wits. "What are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind," Professor Yana explained, "which is a myth in itself, but uh, it is feared they are what we will become… unless we reach Utopia."

"And Utopia is…" the Doctor asked, waiting for Professor Yana to elaborate.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia," the Professor mocking the Doctor's ignorance. "Where have you been?"

"We're not humans," Oliviana reminded the professor, even though she quite enjoyed his ridicule of the Doctor's inquiry.

"Bit of a hermit," the Doctor replied hastily.

Oliviana pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed with exasperation. _Idiot_.

Professor Yana leered at the Doctor dubiously, an expression she had seen Koschei adopt many times on Gallifrey when dealing with Theta Sigma's idiocy. "A hermit with friends?"

"Hermits United," the Doctor clarified. "We meet up every ten years to swap stories about caves. It's good fun… for a hermit."

"Really?" Oliviana deadpanned. How he _ever_ managed to effectively steal a TARDIS was beyond her comprehension.

The Doctor cleared his throat sheepishly, having realized how his responses must have sounded to someone as brilliant as the professor. "So, um, Utopia?"

Professor Yana curled his finger in the air, beckoning them to follow him to a computer. There was a navigational chart with a blinking red dot on the computer screen.

"The call came from across the stars over and over," Professor Yana explained, his voice lowering to just above a whisper. "'Come to Utopia.' Originating from that point."

"Where is that?" the Doctor asked, propping his head up with his hand as he tried to make sense of the data on the screen.

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness," Professor Yana replied. "Out towards the wild lands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in, the last of the humans, scattered across the night."

"What do you think's out there?"

Professor Yana shrugged. "I don't know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it."

Oliviana spoke up. "Perhaps not."

Professor Yana regarded her perceptively. "But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied hastily, not wanting for her moodiness to put the professor off of his entire species. "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic; there's a good sign. Someone's out there. And that's… ooh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it? So you can fly without stars to guide you."

Neither Oliviana nor Professor Yana caught a word the Doctor was saying. The second Oliviana looked at professor quickly and recognized the anguished look on his face and his eyes shut against the pain in his head, she knew who he was.

There, right next to her, was her Koschei. And it didn't matter that he had abandoned her on Earth. It didn't matter anymore that he lied to her and managed to get himself killed during the Time War, because he was right beside her.

And he was in pain.

Oliviana raised a hand to the professor's face and closed her eyes in concentration as she entered his mind, telepathically whispering comforting words into his subconscious in hopes that it would help ease the drumming.

The Doctor turned slightly and noticed Oliviana hastily remove her hand from the professor's cheek. "Professor? Professor?"

Professor Yana recovered his composure, forcing himself to perk up; there was so much yet to be done and he couldn't waste any more time. "I… right, that's enough talk; there's work to do. Now, if you could leave, thank you."

Professor Yana retreated across the lab, but the Doctor followed him. "You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, and busy!" Professor Yana blurted out, fumbling uselessly with some levers and dials to no avail.

"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it?" the Doctor theorized confidentially. "This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."

"We'll find a way!" Professor Yana protested.

"You always do, don't you?" Oliviana reflected, smiling at him wistfully to put his mind at rest. From the corner of her eye she saw Martha gape at her in bewilderment.

"You're stuck on this planet, and you haven't told them, have you?" the Doctor chided. "That lot, out there, they still think they're gonna fly."

"Well," Professor Yana confessed guiltily, "it's better to let them live in hope…"

"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor," the Doctor said, removing his coat for Jack to grab as he passed, "um, what was it?"

"Yana," Oliviana said slowly.

"Professor Yana," the Doctor started again, situating himself next to Professor Yana, "this science is well beyond me… but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost."

"Astute observation, Doctor," Oliviana noted sardonically.

The Doctor shot her a look. "So I wonder," he continued, "what would happen if I did _this_?"

The Doctor picked up the circuit and aimed his sonic screwdriver at it, flipping a switch on the circuit. Oliviana couldn't deny that she was impressed with the Doctor just this once as alarms resounded through the entire Silo and devices began to switch on all around them.

"Chan- it's working- tho!" Chantho squealed with enthusiasm; she had been working toward this moment for almost seventeen years and couldn't believe it was finally here- the Utopia Project would finally be a success and she and the professor could look forwards to living out the rest of their days in tranquility on the planet, experimenting and inventing in their laboratory.

"But how did you do that?" Chantho smiled, blushing once she realized she was smiling, as she watched the professor jump up from his seat, his eyes alight with excitement, more invigorated with life than she had ever before seen.

"Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you- I'm _brilliant,_" the Doctor grinned at Professor Yana.

"You're an idiot with a lot of luck," Oliviana chuckled, a hint of platonic teasing in her voice. "There's a huge difference."

The Doctor seemed somewhat pleased with himself that he managed to get a positive response from Oliviana instead of her usual snarky witticisms. "Right, Professor Yana, you work on maximizing the footprint impellor system."

"Of course," the professor replied before turning to his assistant, catching her gazing at him longingly. Chantho blushed again and tried to appear busy, looking down at a circuit she was holding, but the professor, along with everyone else in the room, saw right through her action. "Chantho, you and Martha go to the auxiliary control room and collect the intermediary logical circuit boards."

If she was being honest with herself, Oliviana was rather delighted by the departure of Martha and Chantho from the laboratory; she had had quite enough of Chantho's adoration of the professor. The professor was her Koschei- even if he didn't know it yet- not Chantho's mysterious scientist with a chip on his shoulder that she could somehow fix given enough time alone with him.

"Doctor, Duchess," Professor Yana called, "perhaps you two can lend a couple of hands threading the Plumb-Limpid Circuit?"

Oliviana flocked to Professor Yana's side, her hearts racing at the thought of being so close, yet so far from Koschei. The Doctor appeared on the other side of the transparent circuit board and followed suit, threading the individual components of the circuit.

The Doctor lifted one of the filaments to his nose and sniffed it. "Is this…?"

Professor Yana beamed proudly that the Doctor had noticed; he had spend many years perfecting the composition of the filaments. "Yes, gluten extract," he confirmed, glancing at Oliviana to explain, "Binds the neutralino map together."

Oliviana bobbed her head like she had any idea what he was on about, which, of course, she didn't. She never did when it came to Koschei's creations.

"But that's food," the Doctor said with growing admiration for the professor's brilliance. He had waited a long time to _finally_ have another brain that worked beyond the ordinary like his did. "You've built this system out of food and string and staples… Professor Yana, you're a genius!"

Oliviana stifled a chuckle at the Doctor's words; there was a time on Gallifrey when Theta Sigma was always slightly put off from coming up second best in technology-building competitions. Koschei was always just _that_ much better than him.

"Says the man who made it work," the professor said under his breath, slightly disappointed in himself for needing help in completing his life's work. _He_ was supposed to be the brilliant one to single-handedly solve humanity's problems and bring the Utopia Project to fruition, yet here he was getting help from an inattentive alien.

"Ooh, it's easy coming in at the end," Oliviana knocked the Doctor's ego down a few pegs in order to cheer up the professor, "but you're stellar."

"This _is_ magnificent," the Doctor agreed. "I don't often say that 'cause, well, 'cause of me."

When neither the professor nor Oliviana replied, the Doctor focused on threading the filaments through the circuit, running through the remaining steps to be completed in order for the rocket to be launched successfully.

Realizing the Doctor was no longer paying attention to her or the professor, Oliviana leaned closer to the older man, lowering her voice to just above a whisper so that the Time Lord wouldn't hear their conversation. "Professor, what you've created here is a masterpiece.. .You're more of a _master_ than a professor, don't you think?"

Professor Yana shrugged indifferently, not picking up on her hint. "Well, even my title is an affectation," he admitted. "There hasn't been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I've spent my life going from one refugee ship to another."

"If you had been born in a different time, you'd be revered," the Doctor said, looking at the professor through the circuit. Professor Yana chuckled humbly in dismissal. "I mean it, throughout the _galaxies_."

"Oh, those damned galaxies, they _had_ to go and collapse," Professor Yana lamented lightly. "Some admiration would have been nice. Just a little, just once."

Oliviana brushed her fingers against Professor Yana's arm tenderly. "You've got admiration now, professor," she said, leaning closer to him. He stared back at her with uncertainty, furrowing his brows, a slight frown letting Oliviana know that he was confused by her behavior. She took her hand away from him and shifted slightly on her feet to give him more space.

The Doctor's eyes flicked between the two and he decided he must have missed something. "Right… but that footprint engine thing. You can't activate it from onboard; it's got to be from here," he reckoned. "You're staying behind."

"With Chantho," Professor Yana confirmed, "she won't leave without me. Simply refuses."

"Oh, I bet she does," Oliviana muttered under her breath.

"You would give your life so they could fly," the Doctor said, finally realizing how selfless the professor was.

"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia," Professor Yana replied. "It's time I had some sleep."

Atillo's voice boomed through the lab via the communications system. "Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box."

The Doctor was thrilled at the news. "Ah!"

From the other side of the room, they heard Jack calling for them to look at the screen. As they gathered behind him, they saw the TARDIS standing proud and safe inside of the Silo.

The Doctor clapped Professor Yana on the shoulder. "Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I may have just found you a way out."

Moments later, the TARDIS was inside the laboratory. Oliviana watched Professor Yana stare at the TARDIS mesmerized, which told her the drums in his head were bothering him again.

Before she could go to him, the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS, carrying a power line. "Exra power," he explained, connecting the power line to an outlet. "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro-feeds."

Martha and Chantho returned to the laboratory. Upon seeing the TARDIS, Martha said, "Oh, I am glad to see that thing."

Chantho went to Professor Yana, who was sitting down beside Oliviana. "Chan- professor, are you alright -tho?"

Professor Yana nodded meekly. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine," he said, clearing his throat to say once more with a stronger voice, "I'm fine. Just get on with it."

Chantho nodded unsurely and went to help Jack.

"I know what's wrong with you, professor," Oliviana whispered to him. "I can help you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Professor Yana told her, looking at her oddly.

Before she could respond, the Doctor knelt down in front of him. "You don't have to keep working; we can handle it."

"It's just a headache. Just," Professor Yana broke off, suddenly uncomfortable, "just noise inside my head, Doctor… _Constant_ noise inside my head."

"What sort of noise?" the Doctor asked carefully.

"It's the sound of drums," the professor replied. "More and more as though it's getting closer."

Oliviana ached to take his hand, but thought better of it. "That's because it is," she said compassionately. She turned to the Doctor. "_Theta, I know what is wrong with him,_" she said in Gallifreyan, hoping it would get the Doctor to pick up on the fact that something was so different about Professor Yana.

The Doctor was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how Oliviana would know what was wrong with a man she barely knew; she was so young compared to himself, so it didn't make sense that she would know what was wrong, while he had no clue. "When did it start?"

"Oh, I've had it all my life, every waking hour… Still, no rest for the wicked," he said, getting up and going back to work, leaving the Doctor and Oliviana alone.

The Doctor stared her down. "_Oliviana, you never paid any attention during any of our lectures at the Academy. You couldn't possibly know what's wrong with Yana,"_ he said in Gallifreyan, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was quickly losing patience with her. "_Besides, I've seen so much more than you have, I'm practically three times your age."_

"_What does that matter?"_ she exclaimed, also in Gallifreyan. "_I know what I'm talking about when I say I know what's wrong with him!"_

The Doctor opened his mouth to retort, but Oliviana held her hand up to stop him so she could continue. "_If you refuse to listen to me, then I will deal with it myself. Just go help the other humans, Theta. You always preferred the simple ones anyways."_

The Doctor narrowed his eyes angrily at her, deciding to move to another part of the laboratory instead of continuing on with the current discussion, if one could even call it that.

* * *

><p>Oliviana went over to Professor Yana, who was sitting in front of a computer. She leaned over his shoulder, looking at the screen in front of them. "Can I help with anything, professor?" she asked, making him jump from the sudden presence.<p>

"Ah! Duchess, yes," Yana said, trying to regain his composure. "I'm trying to get a strong connection with the Atillo in the control room."

Just then, the screen came into focus, showing Atillo. "Professor, are you getting me?"

"I'm here! We're ready!" Professor Yana replied excitedly, making Oliviana smile. She hadn't seen Koschei that enthusiastic since she was on Gallifrey, and that felt like it had happened so long ago; in reality, it really hadn't happened that long ago for her, but it had been centuries, perhaps millennia, for the Master.

Professor Yana began instructing the men in the control room. "Now, all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then, we can launch."

The screen went blurry, and the connection with the control room was temporarily severed. Professor Yana sighed in frustration. "God sakes! This equipment, needs rebooting all the time!"

"Here, let me," Oliviana offered, moving directly next to him.

Yana got off the seat so she could sit down instead. "Thank you," he said as she took his seat. "Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes out."

Oliviana smirked up at him. "Yes, master," she teased, laughing at the surprised look on his face.

The professor took a few steps back, just as Atillo appeared on the screen once more. "Are you still there?" Atillo asked.

Professor Yana came running to the computer. "Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here."

"Switching to the couplings room," Oliviana informed the two men as she pressed a few buttons to patch the screen into the room holding the radioactive couplings. She noticed Yana staring at her confusedly. "I _do_ know a thing or two about basic computers, you know."

Professor Yana nodded and walked over to provide instruction to Jack, and Martha flocked to Oliviana's side having finished her task. Oliviana turned back to the screen. "What is the status of your man, Atillo?"

"He's inside," Atillo responded.

"And good luck to him, then," Martha said, nervously watching the man approach the couplings hesitantly.

Oliviana rolled her eyes at Martha's unhelpful response and turned around to face the Doctor and Yana.

The Doctor looked up from connecting wires. "Where is that room?" he asked the professor.

Yana moved closer to the Doctor. "It's underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work," the professor replied, "but the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."

"Professor, Doctor, you should come over here," Oliviana called, noticing something potentially dangerous in the couplings room. They looked over her shoulder at the screen, watching the man struggle with the first coupling.

"Stet? Never heard of it," the Doctor said. He was well acquainted with various types of radiation, but stet was something he'd never encountered or heard of before. Who _was_ Yana?

"You wouldn't want to," the professor replied, "but it's safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here."

As the man worked on the first coupling, the radiation alarm began to go off. "It's rising…" Yana whipped around to yell at Jack, "Keep it level!"

"Yes, sir!" Jack yelled back.

The man moved on to the second coupling, but moments later a different, much louder alarm went off. Oliviana unconsciously grabbed Yana's arm as the room began to shake.

"Chan- we're losing power- tho!" Chantho cried.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he assessed the couplings room. "Radiation's rising!"

Jack ran around to equipment in another part of the lab. "The chamber's going to flood!"

"Jack, override the vents!" the Doctor yelled, thinking quickly.

Oliviana rolled her eyes and stood up, drawing herself to her full height to square off with the Doctor. "There's not enough power to override them!"

Jack grabbed two live cables. "Doctor, she's right… We can jump start the override!"

"Don't it's going to flare!"

Oliviana pushed the Doctor aside. "For once in your life, shut up!" she yelled, running over to Jack.

Jack nodded at her and held both cables together, power surging through him. He fell to the floor unconscious.

Martha rushed over to him. "I've got him."

Oliviana held her arm out to stop Martha from killing herself, but Martha struggled against the Time Lady's grasp. "Let me go!"

Chantho stepped in. "Chan- don't touch the cables- tho."

Chantho pushed the cables aside and Oliviana released Martha, who immediately ran to Jack's side. Oliviana joined the Doctor, standing away from the commotion around Jack. "This is all a bit unnecessary, don't you think?"

Professor Yana shook his head in horror at the death of the man. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

The Doctor was unperturbed by the situation, however. "The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?"

Oliviana raised her eyebrows in amusement as she watched Martha begin performing mouth-to-mouth on Jack. "You do know that won't do anything right?" she called, but Martha ignored her.

"Without the couplings, the engines will never start," the professor lamented. "It was all for nothing!"

As the Doctor walked over to Jack in order to pull Martha from him, Oliviana patted the professor's arm comfortingly. "Don't say that, not yet."

She removed her hand from his arm hastily as the Doctor turned back to them, his typical scheming grin on his face. "It strikes me, professor, you've got a room a man can't enter without dying, is that correct?"

Professor Yana nodded. "Yes."

"Well…" the Doctor drawled, and moments later Jack came back to life, gasping violently to fill his lungs with air once again. The Doctor removed his eyeglasses dramatically. "I've got just the man."

Jack looked around him frantically. "Was someone kissing me?"

"Really?" Oliviana exclaimed with exasperation. "Jack, get off the ground. Doctor, stop being an idiot."

"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed, scrunching his nose at her.

"Go to the control room immediately!" she yelled. "It's not like we have all the time in the world, now is it?"

"Quite right," the Doctor muttered. He and Jack ran from the laboratory.

Martha sat down at the computer, Oliviana and the professor remaining where they were. While she didn't fully trust that Martha was the brightest creature in the universe, Oliviana trusted her to be able to communicate through the computers with the Doctor and Jack.

No, right now, Oliviana's only concern was with Professor Yana, who was standing dumbly in one place, staring blankly into the air. Oliviana put a hand to his cheek, closing her eyes to concentrate on entering his mind.

The drums were getting louder and louder by the second.

Professor Yana suddenly shook his head, clearing his mind and unintentionally forcing Oliviana out of it. "Sorry, must have nodded off right then," he apologized to her. "All this excitement must be too much for an old man to handle."

"We lost picture when that thing flared up," Martha called to them. Oliviana and the professor moved to her side, Oliviana pressing buttons until the picture cleared up, the connection becoming stable once more. "Doctor, are you there?"

"Receiving, yeah," the Doctor replied. "He's inside."

"And still alive?" Martha inquired. Oliviana was astounded that she asked that question, considering the multiple times she was told, along with witnessed, that Jack could never die.

"Oh, yes."

Yana narrowed his eyes at the screen; something didn't make sense. "But he should evaporate… What sort of man is he?"

Martha shrugged. "I've only just met him. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up… God, I make us sound like stray dogs."

Oliviana snorted. "Maybe you are."

"You travel in time?" Professor Yana murmured, looking away distractedly.

"Don't ask me to explain it," Martha replied.

Oliviana rolled her eyes and pointed to the TARDIS. "That's a TARDIS."

"The sports car of time travel, he says," Martha muttered.

The professor stared blankly at Oliviana who reached her hand out and placed it on the side of his face, entering his mind once more.

"_That's a TARDIS,"_ she said in Gallifreyan, showing him images of the ship in his mind, helping his human brain translate the language, hoping that it would help him remember. "_Time and Relative Dimension in Space. You had one too… well, you stole your father's one, at least_."

Professor Yana gazed into her eyes, a far away glimmer in his own. "My father…"

* * *

><p>The Doctor leaned against the door separating the control room from the couplings room. "When did you first realize?"<p>

Jack gritted his teeth. "Earth, 1892. Got in a fight on Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then, I woke up… thought it was kinda strange," he replied. "But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, strangulation, a stray javelin…"

The Doctor winced.

"In the end, I got the message- I'm the man who can never die," Jack stated. "And all that time, you _knew_."

"That's why I left you behind," the Doctor said. "It's not easy even just… looking at you, Jack, 'cause you're wrong."

Jack scoffed. "Thanks."

"You are, I can't help it!" the Doctor protested. "I'm a Time Lord; it's instinct… it's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. That's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you."

"So what you're saying is that you're, uhhh…" Jack broke off, finishing the last coupling, "prejudiced?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I never thought of it that way."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Martha and Chantho huddled around the computer, nervously watching Jack work on the couplings, intently listening to the conversation between the Doctor and the man who could never die.<p>

Behind them, Oliviana stood, holding the Professor's face with one hand and grasping onto his hand with her other hand.

He was staring blankly at the TARDIS, as she continued showing him images of Gallifrey and TARDISes in his mind. "_Remember, you stole the TARDUS and we ran so far away to the planet Earth?"_ she asked, still in Gallifreyan.

The fact that his brain was able to be helped to translate it into English so he could understand it was a good sign.

* * *

><p>"Last thing I remember back when I was mortal… I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination," Jack grimaced. "And then I came back to life, what happened?"<p>

The Doctor sighed. "Rose."

"I thought you sent her back home."

"She came back," the Doctor said. Jack looked at him, wanting more, and for once, the Doctor gave in. "She opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Jack asked carefully.

"No one's ever meant to have that power," the Doctor responded. "If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god, a vengeful god… But she was human, everything she did was so _human_. She brought you back to life, but she couldn't control it; she brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was _life_."

* * *

><p>Oliviana desperately clung to his mind, flooding images and memories into him. "<em>Remember the Time War?"<em>

Yana shook his head.

"_Me neither,_" she replied. "_But that's because you helped me escape it so that I would be safe… You saved me."_

* * *

><p>Jack frowned. "Do you think she could change me back?"<p>

The Doctor shook his head. "I took the power out of her. She's gone Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world, she's trapped there… The walls have closed."

"I'm sorry," Jack offered, knowing how much she meant to the Doctor.

"Yep."

"I went back to her estate, in the nineties, just once or twice," Jack confessed. "Watched her growing up. Never said hello, timelines and all that."

The Doctor cocked his head, scrutinizing Jack. "Do you want to die?"

Jack struggled with a coupling. "Oh, this one's a little stuck."

"Jack?"

Jack sighed. "I thought I did.. I dunno," he said. "But this lot, you see them out here surviving, and that's _fantastic_." He moved onto the last coupling.

"You may be out there somewhere," the Doctor offered.

"I could go meet myself."

The Doctor scoffed. "Well, that's the only man you're ever going to be happy with."

Jack smirked. "This new regeneration, it's kinda cheeky."

* * *

><p>The word 'regeneration' echoed through Yana's mind, having heard Jack say it over the computer system.<p>

"_I'm not sure you would recognize me like this, I've only regenerated once before," _Oliviana explained in Gallifreyan to him, still helping his brain translate the language. "_You didn't know me like this, but I'm sure you would recognize me if you hadn't forgotten yourself._"

Martha shook her head at the screen, giving up on listening to the Doctor and Jack's conversation. "I never understand half of the things he says," she said to Chantho. She turned to see Oliviana holding the professor's cheek and hand. "What's wrong?"

Chantho's head whipped around to see the same thing. "Chan- professor, what is it- tho?"

Hearing his name, the professor stepped away from Oliviana and shook his head, forcing her out of his mind once more. "Time travel… they say there was time travel back in the old days," he muttered. "I never believed, but what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man… Never could keep time. Always late, always lost."

"Don't say that," Oliviana murmured, brushing her hand against his arm once more.

Professor Yana scoffed. "Even this thing never worked," he said, pulling a fob watch from his waistcoat pocket.

Hearts thundering louder than she ever felt before, Oliviana cried out in ecstasy, bringing a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying out again.

Professor Yana looked at her strangely, before turning back to Chantho and Martha. "Time and time and time again, always running out on me."

Martha's eyes widened and she stared at the watch. "Can I have a look at that?"

Oliviana stepped in front of the professor. "Martha, leave him alone," she growled protectively, now that she knew it really was her Koschei. As a human, he was in his most fragile state, and she wasn't about to take any chances.

Yana chuckled at the Time Lady's puzzling reaction. "Oh, it's only an old relic, Duchess… Like me."

"Where did you get it?" Martha asked.

"I was found with it."

Oliviana looked back at the professor. "What do you mean?"

Yana shrugged. "An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this in my hands."

Oliviana held his hand once more, pleased when he didn't retract it from her. She was surprised when he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "The Silver Devastation's no place for a child…" she whispered sadly.

Martha stepped closer to them. "Have you opened it?"

Oliviana shot her a look. "Obviously not."

Yana looked at Martha oddly. "Why would I? It's broken."

"How would you know it's broken if you never opened it?" Martha retorted carefully.

"It's stuck, it's old, it's not meant to be," Yana replied frustratedly. "I don't know."

Martha reached out and took the watch from the professor, flipping it over in her hand. She gasped when she saw that it bore the same Gallifreyan circular engravings that the Doctor's had. She stepped away from the Time Lords nervously.

Oliviana advanced towards her menacingly. "I'd strongly advise you to give that to me. It's not yours."

Hastily, Martha handed over the watch to the Time Lady, not wanting to anger her further.

Oliviana rubbed her thumbs lovingly over the inscriptions on the watch. "_Oh, I've missed you so much more than you could ever know,"_ she whispered to it in Gallifreyan, not bothering to help the professor's brain to translate it.

"You know who's in there?" Martha asked Oliviana.

Oliviana looked up from the watch to glare at Martha. "The most important Time Lord to ever exist."

Professor Yana looked between Martha and Oliviana, not understanding the situation. "Duchess, does it matter?"

Before Oliviana could respond, Martha beat her to it. "No, its… nothing. It's," she broke off, looking away from Oliviana to concentrate on the professor. "Listen, everything's fine up here. I'm going to see if the Doctor needs me."

Oliviana put the fob watch into Yana's hands and closed his fingers over it. "_Professor, you need to trust me from this point forward," _she said in Gallifreyan, once more helping him translate it. _"Will you be able to do that… for me?"_

Yana nodded dumbly, staring into her eyes.

Martha ran from the room, rushing to find the Doctor to get help.

* * *

><p>Once Jack had left the couplings room, he and the Doctor went to the controls. Martha ran in.<p>

"Ah, nearly there," the Doctor muttered. "The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive, so it's going to take the both us to keep it stable."

Martha went to him to help with the machine. "Doctor, it's the professor, he's got this watch," she panted. "It's the same as yours. Same writing on it, same… everything."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Martha shook her head. "I asked him; he said he's had it all his life."

Jack shrugged. "So, he's got the same watch."

Martha looked at him. "Yeah, but it's not a watch… it's this _chameleon_ thing."

The Doctor became flustered at the potential ramifications if what Martha was saying was true. "No, no, no. It's this… this thing, this device, it rewrites biology… changes a Time Lord or Lady into a human."

"And it's the same watch."

The Doctor glared at her. "It can't be!"

"But it is!" she argued back. "The Duchess even recognized it! It's the same watch!"

An alarm went off, and the Doctor rushed over to fix it.

"If the Duchess recognizes it, that means he could be a Time Lord," Jack said. "You two might not be the last of your species."

"Jack keep it level!" the Doctor avoided the statement.

Martha appeared next to him. "But that's brilliant, isn't it? Someone else for you and the Duchess to relate to! You're always arguing… maybe a third Time Lord is just what is needed. This is a good thing, it has to be!"

"Yes, it is. Course it is.." the Doctor replied rapidly. "Well, depends which one. Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them died… Well except for the Duchess, of course. But that's beside the point; they all died!"

Jack frowned. "Not if he was human; isn't that how the Duchess survived?"

"What did he say, Martha?"

"He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it, like that perception filter thing. He didn't say anything… but the Duchess _certainly_ did."

The Doctor's throat constricted, dreading the Time Lord in the fobwatch. There were only a few Time Lords that Oliviana would have done anything for, and none of them would be good to be alive still. All of them were dangerous, even her beloved brother.

"What did she say?" the Doctor yelled at Martha.

"She said the watch holds the most important Time Lord to ever exist… Doctor, she was holding it like a mother would hold a child."

The Doctor swallowed in horror. "Or like a lover would hold a long-lost beloved," he muttered. "What about now? Can he see it now?"

"What?" Martha asked, not understanding.

"Can Yana see the watch now?"

Martha nodded and the Doctor ran a hand through his hair.

* * *

><p>Professor Yana held the watch and gazed into Oliviana's eyes. She placed her hands on either side of his face, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against his.<p>

"_Professor, please trust me,"_ she said in Gallifreyan, entering his mind once more to send him more memories, but this time, the memories were more specific to them.

_"__One day you're going to command the universe," a younger-looking Oliviana murmured. "I realize now that you're too special to bow down to anyone or anything; you're going to be the universe's lord… no, it's master, and I'm going to be right there next to you, soothing you whenever the drums are too much for you to bear alone."_

Professor Yana exhaled raggedly. "You can hear the drums," he breathed.

Oliviana nodded against his head and sent him more of the memory.

"_Let me take care of you and I will let you be Koschei, my Master."_

_Koschei stared at the young Gallifreyan in front of him "Master?" he repeated slowly._

_Oliviana slid off the tree trunk and dropped to her knees in front of Koschei, taking his hands into her own. She gazed up at him with unadulterated adoration. "You're the Master, Koschei. You master everything you attempt to do. You've always been the Master; when all others have failed, you alone have risen above us all."_

"The Utopia Project," Yana whispered. "I was the _only one_ who could make it a reality."

Oliviana opened her eyes and smiled at him. "_That's because you're brilliant, absolutely brilliant,"_ she replied, still in Gallifreyan. "_And you're everything, especially to me_."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," the professor replied, referring to what she was saying, not the language she was saying it in. She was still translating it in his brain for him.

Oliviana closed her eyes and sent him another memory.

_Koschei shifted his weight under Oliviana, who was currently straddling his waist. He took the ring from the box she was holding and raised it in front of them. "It's a white point star diamond," he explained. "I know it was silly for me to have purchased such an item considering your father's disapproval, but when I saw it, I didn't care. One day, when we are safe, I will make your father give us his consent, and we will be married. I don't care how long I have to wait, as long as I can legally call you mine according to the laws of our people."_

"Who is that girl?" Professor Yana asked. "The girl in the memories?"

"_You know who she is, don't you?"_ Oliviana smiled, opening her eyes to see him mindlessly fingering a small locket around his neck. She hadn't spotted it before, his neck tie had been in the way, but now she could see it and it made her so happy to see. "_What's that you're playing with?"_

Yana noticed the locket. "Oh this? It was the only thing, besides the watch on my possession when they found me… A gift from my mother to go with the fob watch, a gift from my father… or so they guessed it was."

"But it's not, is it?" Oliviana asked. "It's not cold to your skin like metal usually is. It was always cold before, but now…" she trailed off, placing a hand on top of his on the locket, feeling its temperature. "It's warm."

Professor Yana remained silent for a moment and Oliviana could only guess that residual awareness was fighting through the effects of the Chameleon Arch. She peered into his mind to assess the situation.

"_The TARDIS," the Doctor's voice taunted in the professor's mind. "The Time Vortex."_

_The Doctor in the professor's mind let out a low, evil sounding laugh as the voice became Jack's. _"_Regeneration," Jack's voice repeated over and over again_.

Oliviana cupped the professor's cheek, rubbing her thumbs against his wrinkled skin as she whispered words of encouragement to him in Gallifreyan."_Give in to the drumbeat, Koschei. You won't have to face the drums alone anymore."_

A male voice she had never heard before began talking in his mind. "_The drums, the drums, the drums… the never-ending drumbeat,"_ _the voice said evilly, and Oliviana guessed it had to be one of the Master's regenerations. "Open me, you human fool. Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty."_

Oliviana concentrated harder, pushing that voice from his mind, not liking the tone or content of it. She didn't want to frighten or upset the professor, and especially not give ideas to Koschei once he woke up from being a human.

She sent him another memory to redirect his attention.

_"__You're the one who not only can hear the drums, but you want to hear them, just because it eases my pain," Koschei said, gazing at Oliviana lovingly. "You gave me the title, 'Master,' and with it, you gave me my life's purpose."_

A second male voice broke through her memory. "_Destroy him… and you will give your power to me!"_

Oliviana gritted her teeth and fought against the voice, sending him the rest of the memory.

"_You told me once that I was too special to bow down to anyone, yet that's not entirely true," Koschei continued. "I will always bow down to you. Liviana, will you let me conquer the stars for you?"_

* * *

><p>Jack thought. "If he escaped the Time War, then it's the perfect place to hide," he conceded. "The end of the universe."<p>

Martha nodded in agreement with Jack. "We thought the Face of Boe referred to the Duchess when he said 'you are not alone,' but what if we were wrong about his dying words?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment, choosing to launch the rocket instead of answer Martha and Jack.

He shook his head, trying to mute the thoughts buzzing ceaselessly through his mind. The Face of Boe with his dying words told him that he was not alone.

Shortly after, he discovered Oliviana, and thought that perhaps the Face of Boe was referring to her. But he thought about it now from a different angle. Perhaps it was not the meaning of the words that were significant, but the words themselves.

You Are Not Alone.

YANA

* * *

><p>"<em>Open the watch,"<em> Oliviana urged the professor in Gallifreyan, "_open the watch and come back to your Liana, Master."_

Hesitantly, the professor shook her from his mind and opened the watch, releasing its contents and absorbing the dormant Time Lord back into his consciousness.

Feeling the presence of Koschei once more, Oliviana felt her knees give out and she sunk to the floor with relief and happiness at being in his presence once more.

"_After all this time…"_ she broke off, staring up at the Master, "_and you've come back to me."_

The Master peered down at Oliviana and raised her chin to look into his eyes. "I'm not sure you understand the meaning of 'mine'…" he said, quoting one of their earliest memories together. "My offer still stands, if you would have me, that is."

"What offer?"

The Master grinned down at her, and she recognized the Koschei she loved so much. He repeated the words she's heard before, so long ago. "Will you stand by my side, not only as my Duchess, but, more importantly, as my wife?"

Oliviana stood up and cried out, pressing her lips against his and nodding into the kiss.

"Chan- Professor Yana- tho?" Chantho exclaimed, interrupting the kiss.

The Master turned from Oliviana to face Chantho. Chantho instinctually took a step away from him upon seeing the foreign look of hatred and contempt on his face.

The Master sneered in her direction before looking at Oliviana. "_You asked me to trust you, just now, and I fear I must ask you to do the same… Will you trust me, Liana?"_

Oliviana nodded. "_With all my hearts, Koschei."_

The Master threw a lever, closing and locking the main door into the laboratory.

Chantho gaped at the screen, showing the Doctor, Jack, and Martha locked out of the laboratory. "Chan- but you've locked them in- tho!"

"Not to worry, my dear," the Master mocked. "As one door closes, another must open." He threw another switch, powering down the main gate, allowing the Futurekind to get access to the Silo.

"Chan- you must stop- tho!" He ignored her as he worked various controls in the lab. "Chan- but you've lowered the defenses! The Futurekind will get in- tho!"

Oliviana remained in the background, not wanting to interfere. Even though she swore to the Doctor that she was angry with Koschei for all he had done to her, not that she had him back the only feeling she felt was relief. She didn't care what he was doing, as long as he was there and alive and, most importantly, hers.

"Chan- Professor, I'm so sorry, but I must stop you. You're destroying all our work- tho!"

The Master looked over his shoulder to see Chantho holding a gun, pointed in his direction. Oliviana approached her menacingly to protect her fiancé. Chantho aimed the gun at her instead.

"Oh… now I can say I was provoked," he growled, holding out one of the live cables in Chantho's direction. "Did you never think, in all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch?" he barked. "Never? Did you never think, not ever, that you could set me free?"

"Chan- I'm sorry- tho. Chan- I'm so sorry," Chantho whimpered, too afraid of him to finish her sentence properly.

The Master advanced towards her, live cable still in hand. "And you with your _chan_ and your _tho_ driving me insane!"

"Chan- professor, please…"

"That is not my name!" he yelled. "The Professor… was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who _she_ is," he said, pointing to Oliviana, "forgot who I am…"

"Chan- who _are_ you- tho?"

"I am the Master," he whispered menacingly as he thrusted the live cable forward. Oliviana turned away, not willing to watch Chantho die.

The Master looked over to Oliviana. "_Can you bring the Doctor's hand over here?"_

Oliviana kneeled and took the canister containing the hand, bringing it to him just as they heard pounding on the laboratory door.

"Professor!" the Doctor shouted, switching to pounding on the window. "Duchess! Let me in! Let me in!"

Oliviana turned to Koschei. "Shouldn't we let him in?" she asked. "He was your friend once, after all…"

The Master went over to the computer displaying the navigational chart for Utopia. "That was before you became his fiancee."

"Professor! professor, where are you?" the Doctor continued shouting. "Professor? Are you there? Please I need to explain!"

"You know neither one of us wanted to marry each other," she reminded the Master as he removed the circuit board from the computer.

"Utopia," he sneered down at it condescendingly.

"Professor!"

Oliviana looked between Koschei and the Doctor at the door. "What actually happened to make you hate him this much?"

The Master began pulling cables from the TARDIS. "I found out who killed your brother."

Oliviana's blood ran cold as he looked pointedly at the door, behind which they heard the Doctor yelling to them. "Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor, Duchess, please! Listen to me!"

Oliviana shook her head. "No…"

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Chantho reaching for her gun. "_Koschei!"_ she shouted in Gallifreyan, jumping in front of him to partially block the shot from Chantho's gun.

Oliviana collapsed back into the Master, unconscious from absorbing half of the shot. The Master groaned in pain and looked down at his body, seeing that he absorbed the other half of the shot. Oliviana in tow, he staggered back against the TARDIS, clutching Oliviana in his arms.

There was a crackling sound as the keypad shorted out and the Doctor, followed by Jack and Martha, ran into the lab. The Doctor stopped upon seeing the Master holding Oliviana.

The Doctor started forward, but the Master backed himself and Oliviana into the TARDIS, locking the ship's doors behind them.

The Doctor tried his key, but the Master beat him to it, flipping a switch to make sure the Doctor couldn't get into the TARDIS. The Master ran up to the console and gently laid Oliviana across the floor.

He straightened himself up and pressed a button on the console to prevent the Doctor's sonic screwdriver from working. "Deadlocked," he smirked, having outwitted the Doctor once more.

The Doctor pounded on the TARDIS's doors, begging to be let in. "Everything's changed!" he shouted. "It's only the three of us! We're the only ones left!"

The Master chuckled lowly. "After this, the Duchess and I will be the only ones left," he yelled back happily.

The Doctor growled in frustration. "Give her back!"

"Can't!" the Master replied, "killed by an insect, the both of us! A _girl!_ How inappropriate… Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong and suitable to be alongside the Duchess… then so can I! The Master, _reborn_."

The Master flung his arms and head back, letting the regeneration energy shoot out from his body in violent, bright golden beams of light. He let out a violent, agonized scream.

Outside, the Doctor was horrified by the regeneration energy light and the scream.

Inside, the newly-regenerated Master, ran his hands over his new body. He was pleased that he felt like he was in his early-thirties (human years, of course). He let out a laugh, running about the console to find the speaker to taunt the Doctor further.

"Doctor…" he rasped, using his voice for the first time. "Ooh, new voice… Hello," he said in a low voice, but decided it wasn't quite right, opting for a higher tone, "hello," but no, that wasn't right either, so he switched to a medium tone, "hello."

Yes, that one was perfect. "Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans, and you can work out a way to stop me!" He paused for dramatic effect. "I don't think so!"

"I'm asking you really properly! Just stop! Just think!" the Doctor pleaded, fearing for Oliviana's safety in the presence of a mad man. She had no clue what had happened to her beloved Koschei once he returned to Gallifrey.

"Use my name," the Master commanded.

"Master," the Doctor breathed, "I'm sorry."

"Tough!" the Master laughed, starting the TARDIS's control sequence, surprised when the Doctor tampered with the ship, making the console spark. "Oh, no you don't!" he exclaimed, getting the column working properly again. "End of the universe, have fun! Bye, bye!"

The Doctor helplessly watched the TARDIS dematerialize from outside.

Inside the TARDIS, the dematerialization woke Oliviana up. The Master knelt down by her side, lifting her head into his lap, tenderly brushing her hair out of her face. "You're going to regenerate soon, Liana."

Oliviana smiled slightly, wincing from the pain she felt. "Promise you won't leave me like the last time, Koschei," she murmured, searching his eyes for something. "You nearly broke my hearts."

Koschei leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead. "It'll just be you and me from now on, I promise," he whispered. "Now, regenerate before you hurt yourself."

Oliviana nodded and pushed herself away from him to get distance. The Master backed away from the console and allowed her to be overtaken with regeneration energy.


	20. Of Archangel and Sycorax

"Every single time," Oliviana growled, punctuating each word harshly as she glared at herself in the mirror. "Why can't I have dark hair like the first me? I loved dark hair. I looked great with dark hair."

The Master chuckled at her reaction upon seeing her new body for the first time. "I think you look absolutely delectable," he murmured, pressing his lips against the nape of her neck.

Oliviana rolled her stony-blue eyes and spun away from her reflection to look at the Master's new body instead. "I much prefer looking at you, Koschei," she smirked up at him as he ran his hands over her newer, more rounded hips.

The Master hummed and pulled her tighter against him. "We seem to be at an impasse, my darling," he told her gruffly. "We're going to be landing soon."

"So? There's plenty of time before that," Oliviana purred, wrapping her arms around his back and running her fingers up and down it just the way he used to love. He closed his eyes and a soft smile graced his face; it seemed like he still enjoyed the gesture.

As much as he wanted to take her up on her offer, the Master had so much to do before the TARDIS landed on Earth. It had been so many centuries that he lost count of exactly how many had actually passed since he was this close to his Oliviana… his Liana as he liked to call her when they were alone and he was most in love.

There was nothing more that he'd like to do than to lay her down on the bed behind them and show her just how much he missed her presence during all the time he'd been apart from her, but right now, time was of the essence.

They had spent the greater portion of the morning, before Oliviana remembered that she hadn't yet seen her new body, planning exactly how she was going to get her revenge on the Doctor for her brother's death.

At first, she was still reluctant to believe him that the Doctor was responsible for Thandel's death, furious with him for the suggestion, even, but when he sent her the memory and she saw the events for her own eyes, she finally believed him.

She wasn't mournful as he thought she would be… no, Oliviana's first, and only reaction, was to become calm, calculating, and ultimately, vindictive. On Gallifrey, the Master had never known her to be any of those adjectives, but now, in her third incarnation, she was all three of them.

Even though he was cross with the Doctor for causing Oliviana so much sorrow on Gallifrey, he was now throughly enraged that the Doctor's actions caused his innocent Duchess to become corrupt with feelings of hatred and schemes of destruction.

While Oliviana stated over and over again her intention of killing the Doctor, the Master wouldn't let her go through with it in reality. She had gotten angry with him, told him that he wasn't the boss of her, but in the end, she submitted. Together, they would devise a plan to get revenge, but ultimately, he would be the one to kill the Doctor in whatever way she wanted.

Which brought him back to their present mission: to make up for the Doctor taking her brother and her world, Oliviana wanted to take the Earth from him- his world.

A world for a world. There was a kind of poetic justice about it that excited the Master.

"Regardless, I need to change out of these _old_ clothes," the Master said, motioning to the clothing Professor Yana had chosen with disgust. "And you," he motioned to her outfit, tattered from regeneration, "need to do so as well."

Oliviana pouted, but nevertheless followed him into the TARDIS wardrobe, going her separate way towards the section containing clothing suitable for a Time Lady.

As she meandered through the racks of period-specific clothing, looking for the mid-2000s, England, section, Oliviana ran through a list of names in her mind, trying to find one that fit the new persona she would adopt when they arrived to execute their plan.

She needed something vibrant, yet plain… innocent, but with a little hint of mystery. She essentially needed the name equivalent of a strapless white sundress- innocent in theory and fabric, but alluring in reality and display of bare skin.

Yes, her name needed to be something that would deceive all who knew it. She would hide under a facade of aloofness and innocence, all while she would further her plan against the Doctor.

"Here you are," Oliviana smirked upon locating a tasteful and classy light pink dress. Wanting to complete her look before the Master found her and added his input, she quickly undressed from her old clothes and zipped herself into the new dress.

On to the shoes…

Her name, she thought as she frowned at a pair of gaudy green heels, must be the opposite of the darkness that raged inside of her. Her name must be light.

Gingerly stepping into a pair of nude heels, Oliviana twirled a bit just to make sure she liked the way they fit. They were perfect of course- they came from the TARDIS, after all.

Only thing left that she needed to locate was the jewelry section, which she doubted was as stocked as Koschei's father's TARDIS. The Doctor didn't seem to be the kind of man to acquire beautiful gemstones and precious minerals and metals in order to give to a special lady.

Despite that, the TARDIS did manage to string together a pearl necklace and earring set, just for her. Putting them on, she decided to put her hair half-up. After applying some light makeup, Oliviana cocked her head in approval of her appearance.

Not as good as her first incarnation, but definitely not as bad as her previous one.

"You look perfect," the Master insisted, wrapping his arms around her from behind, pulling her back into his chest to spread kisses down the side of her neck.

Oliviana laughed at the ticklish sensation and grinned at him through the mirror's reflection. "I'm glad you think so," she replied, turning towards him and taking a step back to admire his new outfit. "You don't look too bad yourself, either," she said, looking him up and down, loving the way the tailored suit hugged his body.

The Master smirked and held his a arm out for her to take. Oliviana placed her hand on his arm and he led her to the console room. "Not too shabby," he said, running an environment check on the scanner. "Earth, England, mid-2006. Perfect."

They walked over to the doors. Just as the Master was about to open them, Oliviana remembered and stopped him. "Wait!" she exclaimed, pulling him back. "I forgot to pick a name!"

"I thought you knew what kind of name you wanted," the Master said, cocking his head at her. "Light, right?"

Oliviana rolled her eyes playfully. "And how would you know that, Koschei?" He looked away sheepishly and she clucked her tongue in mock-disapproval. "Give me a warning the next time you want to invade my mind."

"Your wish is my command," the Master purred charmingly, leaning down to capture her lips with his, whispering against her lips the name, "Lucy."

Lucy.

_Light._

Why didn't she think of that?

* * *

><p>"To conclude, the simple, but undeniably elegant, and newly redecorated and furnished, manor boasts eight main bedrooms, thirty-seven acres of grounds and gardens lined with thousands of roses, and is located in a very desirable location."<p>

Oliviana's gaze shifted from the thin estate agent to her "husband", "What do you think, Harold?"

The Master squinted his eyes once more in the direction of the manor, before smiling at the agent. "It is a beautiful building," he appreciated, "but our offer depends on how soon we will be able to move in."

The agent shifted between his feet, running figures through his mind. On the one hand, the paperwork required for a fast move-in was sure to keep him working in the office all night long… but on the other hand, the couple did offer at the beginning of the tour to pay a hefty service fee in the off chance they would be able to move in later that day, pending their approval of the property.

"The keys are in my possession," he said slowly, deciding working all night was definitely worth the money he would receive, "so all that stands between you and your beautiful new home is a few signatures."

"And the payment for the manor?" Oliviana prompted. "Shall we pay later or are you able to accept a cheque on the spot?"

The agent's eyes widened. "Pay on the spot… for the entire property, Mrs. Saxon?"

The Master put his arm around her waist and beamed down at her for the suggestion. "That's a fantastic idea, Lucy."

Oliviana smiled lovingly up at him, playing the part of the overly-adoring wife for the agent. "I absolutely love this place, Harold," she said excitedly, before looking back at the estate agent. "Will we be able to pay right away or not?"

"Yes, erm," the agent stuttered, "that can be arranged."

"Perfect!" the Master grinned, pulling out his cheque book to pay off the estate agent in full for his services and the house.

The agent pocked the cheque quickly and handed over the keys to the estate, bidding them good day.

Once the agent had driven away, the Master pecked Oliviana on the lips. "Now, the real plan begins."

Oliviana smirked into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to balance herself. "Time to invent our pasts, Harold Saxon."

The Master pulled her closer to him, his fingers tracing the outline of her curves of her body sensually, making her shiver in pleasure under the caress. "Anything for you, Lucy Saxon," he murmured, his voice like hot gravel, "anything for you."

* * *

><p>"It has been a long few months, ladies and gentlemen," the Master bellowed proudly, looking down upon his workers as if they were his subjects, "and I am pleased to announce the completion of all fifteen satellites."<p>

Below the Master's platform on a stair landing overlooking the small factory, the workers clapped with excitement and pride; months of handwork and long hours put in at their jobs had finally paid off. Their boss, Harold Saxon, had never looked so delighted, and his delight meant that they would be receiving sizable bonuses come next paycheck.

"Settle down, no need for that," the Master continued with an air of amusement and humility, quelling the applause. "_You_ all are the reason Archangel Network will come to fruition. Tomorrow, at midnight of Christmas Day, the satellites will be launched into orbit." He paused, waiting for the new round of cheering to quiet down once more, before continuing, "Then tomorrow night, if all goes according to plan, I will be discussing Archangel Network in a televised press conference."

The Master paused again, letting the information sink into the minds of the humans below. While he employed the best and the brightest of the humans, they still were hindered by the limits of the human mind; they still were no match for his Time Lord brain.

"As promised, you will go home to your families tonight with a hefty paycheck," he finally declared. "Have a good holiday, and we will see you all back at work in the beginning of February for Phase II of Archangel Network."

* * *

><p>Oliviana couldn't wait for the Master to return to their manor from his work that night; she had finally completed her gift to him and she couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on his face when he finally sees, once and for all, that she wasn't as unintelligent as she had been on Gallifrey when she was younger.<p>

True, not much time had passed since she was home, at least for her, but she fancied herself to be a lot smarter and more experienced after her travels with the Doctor.

She guessed that was one thing the Doctor was good for- flying her around the universe in his TARDIS. But even then, she didn't rely on him; anyone could fly the TARDIS if they really tried.

Over the past few months, while the Master, as Harold Saxon, had been at work constructing the Archangel Network satellites, Oliviana had explored the TARDIS, looking for the missing piece to Koschei's laser screwdriver.

He had been somewhat impressed that he was able to gather suitable materials from the Earth to build the screwdriver with, although he was loath to admit that he was impressed with the planet of the apes, but he was missing the last piece- the Artron crystal. And even though he was a Time Lord, he didn't have enough time in a day to focus all his energy on both looking for a crystal and constructing a network to rule the world with.

She, on the other hand, had all the time in the world to roam through the TARDIS. After months of searching, Oliviana finally found the Artron crystal hidden away in the depths of the TARDIS, underneath a decommissioned Time Vector Generator. Why the Doctor refused to get rid of components and devices that no longer worked was beyond her.

Nonetheless, when Oliviana watched the Master walk through the manor in the direction of the room where they parked the TARDIS, she was practically bubbling with excitement, holding the crystal behind her back as she faced the door.

The second the door swung open, Oliviana rushed over to Koschei to kiss him on the cheek. Surprised by her unexpected display of affection, he grinned down at her roguishly. "Whatever did I do to deserve such a welcome, my dear Liana?" he asked.

Oliviana followed him towards the console. "I have a Christmas surprise for you, Koschei," she said, picking up the suit jacket he discarded on the ground and draping it across one of the railings around the console.

"You are aware it is merely Christmas Eve," the Master chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She shifted slightly so he wouldn't see the crystal hidden behind her back. "Besides, we don't celebrate Christmas."

"I know, but I want to give it to you anyway," she laughed, bring the crystal from behind her back to hand to him. "Look what I found today."

Her hearts sped up as his brown eyes smoldered. "I can't believe you found it," he muttered. Oliviana giggled at his awestruck expression and brushed her lips against his briefly.

His gaze followed her as she walked across the console platform to rummage around in his suit jacket pocket, which, of course, was bigger on the inside due to Gallifreyan transdimensional engineering. "Here it is!" she exclaimed, retrieving his laser screwdriver and bringing it over to him. "Now try it."

The Master took the screwdriver from her hands and opened it. Having inserted the artron crystal, the device glowed light blue from the artron energy now powering it. "What a beauty," he murmured, rolling the laser screwdriver over in his hands to get the feel of the now-operational device.

"A Time Lord and his screwdriver," Oliviana smiled affectionately. He was always so adorable when he played with his devices. Koschei and his toys. Somethings never change.

Koschei wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his screwdriver against her shoulder blades. "A Time Lord, his Time Lady, and his screwdriver," he corrected. "Nothing could be more right in the universe. _Now_, I'm ready for the launch of the satellites tonight."

Oliviana pulled back slightly to look up at him, suddenly remembering something important. "Have you completed our backgrounds yet?"

She had offered months ago to write the personal histories of Harold and Lucy Saxon, but he insisted that she do no such thing; he wanted her to relax and not worry, to leave the follow-through of their plan to him.

The Master tightened his grip on Oliviana. She shivered slightly as he traced the curve of her waist and hips with the hand that wasn't holding the laser screwdriver. "Didn't I tell you I would?" he whispered huskily. His hot breath sent tingling sensations across her skin.

She nodded and swallowed in an attempt to regain some sense of composure. It would seem that after all the time spent apart from Koschei, she had lost all ability to resist or counter his charms. "Yes," she conceded, "but I just wanted to make sure that everything is in order, _Harry_," she quipped, throwing his "human" name in for good measure. "Is Archangel secure?"

"One-hundred percent secure and ready, _Lucy_ darling," he replied, his voice laced with barely-restrained lust. "I am free until the launch at midnight."

Oliviana stifled a groan as she felt his hips press against hers, pinning her against the console. "Koschei," she struggled to whisper, "I have tea in the oven currently, and it's going to be ready soon."

"Not if I can help it," he smirked, reaching between them to retrieve the makeshift laser device he had constructed in the months prior to today's completion of the laser screwdriver.

"Absolutely not!" the Time Lady protested, snatching the crude device from his hands, tossing it across the room. "_That_," she complained, pointing in the direction of the kitchen, knowing full well how silly it must seem seeing as they couldn't see the kitchen from the interior of the TARDIS, "is the twelfth oven we've had and you are _not _breaking it again because you are under some misguided delusion that you can seduce me in the TARDIS console room, which, might I remind you, had not worked once."

"There's always a first time for everything," the Master replied seductively, but rolled his eyes and pouted childishly when Oliviana raised an eyebrow in response. "It's not my fault that you're so alluring… so _tempting_, even."

Although her hearts raced, her mind remained resolute in her decision. "I don't think we should… you know," she broke off, stuttering and blushing, "yet, because we're not ready for that. We're not even married- not properly," she finished, referring to the marriage ceremony of the Time Lords."

"It's not like you didn't want to _you know_," he said, teasing her for her bashfulness about the topic, "on Gallifrey." He felt her tense up beneath him. Part of him felt bad for her- she had told him why she was too afraid to give in to his advances, but another part of him wanted to relinquish his control in favor of dominating her. He was the Master after all, wasn't he?

"Koschei, please," she murmured quietly, her wide blue eyes pleading with him. "I'm just not ready yet. I haven't seen you in such a long time."

The Master cut in. "And a few months with me on Earth isn't enough time to get to know this version of me, I get it… I'm different from when you last saw me; I'm so much older than you are now."

Oliviana rested her cheek against his chest. "I still want to marry you," she affirmed after a long silence, "and of course I want to start a family with you," he breathed a sigh of relief at that, "but I just want to get through the next few months focused solely on establishing ourselves as Harold and Lucy Saxon, and establishing the Archangel Network, before we think about those things."

"As you wish, my darling Liana," the Master gave in, taking his hand off her hip to twirl one of her golden ringlets around a finger. "We can wait if that is what you want to do."

"Thank you, Koschei," she smiled, throwing her arms around his neck to kiss him deeply.

He groaned into the kiss. "You're not making this any easier."

"I know," Oliviana smirked.

* * *

><p>Four hours later found Oliviana and the Master curled up on the couch in front of the large television in their living room on the TARDIS; the Master had just returned from the launch of the Archangel Satellites into orbit around the Earth.<p>

"I don't see why we had to buy such a large house if we always stay in the TARDIS," Oliviana mused, not at all minding having such a large house.

The Master chuckled, continuing to flip through the channels to find the news station, hoping that they would have a story on the Network. "Because it's a status symbol, much like it is on Gallifrey."

"Was," Oliviana corrected before she could stop herself. She still hadn't told him what the Doctor told her about their home. She was somewhat scared of how the Master would take it.

The Master didn't seem to hear her response, however; he was too engaged with what a newsreader was saying on the television.

"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe," the newsreader stated. "They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes."

"Just think, Duchess," the Master said, "in a few hours, they won't be talking about the silly space probe anymore, they'll be talking about Archangel Network."

Oliviana pecked him on the cheek and continued to watch the television. A scientist, fidgeting and sweating from stress, appeared on screen. "Yes, we are- we're- we're back on schedule," he stuttered. "We've reached the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."

"Unqualified is one word for it," the Master snorted derisively. "Now, why don't we report on the Network!"

A man off camera spoke up. "But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?"

Oliviana's eyes widened and she stared at Koschei. "Tell me that wasn't you and your satellite launch," she demanded, but the sheepish grin on his face told her she was right.

The scientist nodded. "Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it- it was just a blip… only disappeared for a few seconds. She is fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks."

"Are the images being transmitted via Archangel?" Oliviana asked hopefully.

"Of course they are," the Master grinned, pulling her into his lap, "how could I pass up such an opportunity? And as the pictures are being transmitted to Earth, so are our personal histories. They're working their way subliminally into every human's subconscious. No one will question us. We'll be one-hundred percent, along with the Network."

"One-hundred percent," Oliviana repeated, smiling at the thought of the security provided by one-hundred percent. He smiled back at her before focusing his attention on the screen once more. She did the same.

"The first photographs," the newsreader said as photographs appeared on screen.

Oliviana's eyes widened in horror, knowing what they were seeing was definitely not what the scientists thought it was. "What have the humans gotten themselves into, now?"

"This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning," the newsreader continued.

"That image is being transmitted via Archangel Network, actually," the Master growled, rolling his eyes in annoyance and exasperation. "Honestly, they can't get anything right, can they?"

But Oliviana found herself incapable of responding as she stared at the alien on the screen. "Koschei, that's definitely not supposed to be there, right?"

The Master followed her pointing finger. "Ah, yes, the Sycorax…" he replied, smirking and leaning back against the couch. "I was wondering when the humans would cross paths with them. Forgot it was so soon, though."

"The face of an alien life form was transmitted live tonight on BBC One," the newsreader stated.

The Master grumbled once more about the newsreader's shoddy reporting; Oliviana hushed him as a second newsreader began to speak.

"On the twenty-fifth of December, the human race has been shown absolute proof that alien life exists," the newsreader said with a thick American accent.

Another newsreader nodded. "These remarkable images have been relayed right across the world."

"Fools," the Master sighed. "First, they can't decide on the time of day. Is it Christmas morning, or is it still 'tonight'? The world may never know!"

Oliviana laughed at that; she hadn't noticed the newsreaders' inconsistencies. "Second?" she prompted him.

"Second," he continued with the same equal levels of amusement and hilarity as before, "they actually thought they were transmitting from Mars!"

Oliviana was about to inquire about that, but was cut off by another newsreader coming on screen to interview leading "experts" on extra-terrestrial life to get their take on the situation. After five minutes of heated and misinformed discourse, it was clear that all of the so-called experts believed it to be just a hoax. Aliens would never appear on live television to contact the human race; that was just absurd.

Everyone knew aliens preferred contact via crop-circles in remote locations on Earth, obviously.

The American newsreader appeared on screen once more. "Despite claims of an alien hoax, it's been reported that NATO forces are on red alert."

"Red alert? What, are there communists, now?" Koschei deadpanned. "_That's_ brilliant. I don't know what the Doctor sees in these apes."

"Speaking strictly off the record," the newsreader continued conspiratorially, "government sources are calling this our longest night."

Oliviana rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's night again… Perhaps the Doctor keeps the humans around to prevent that he has Time Lord companions with him instead. Humans do look like Time Lords."

"They do look like Time Lords," he conceded, "but that's about all our species has in common with the humans. That explanation would make sense, seeing as Time Lords don't want to keep company with him. I don't know how you put up with him for so long."

"Honestly me neither," she replied, looking back at the screen. What she saw was somewhat alarming. "Koschei, what the hell is that?"

"We are coming to you life," the newsreader said, "with images and video of masses of people getting ready to jump off buildings… Our analysts are currently working on figuring out the motivation behind this worldwide demonstration, but early reports suggest potential terrorist involvement."

The Master gaped at the stupidity of that suggestion. "Always terrorist involvement, never extraterrestrial involvement," he commented, more to himself than to Oliviana. "Someday, they are going to have to tell the world about all of the alien encounters they have had. They can't keep covering it up forever."

"I wonder what they're going to have to say about this new development," Oliviana mused. "But whatever it is, I hope NATO," she laughed in mockery, "fixes this problem right away because I am not having my plan ruined by a bunch of overgrown grasshoppers."

The Master raised an eyebrow at her outburst in amusement. "Overgrown grasshoppers? I'm sure the Sycorax have killed for lesser names," he laughed. He noticed a new person coming into focus on the television screen. "Well, let's see what the Prime Minister has to say for herself. What do you think, will she deny the existence of aliens once again? I think so."

Oliviana nodded in agreement; over the past few months, the Prime Minister had been blaming extraterrestrial events and contact with Earth on human-error and mistake.

On screen, Harriet Jones sat behind a large desk with a photograph of the Queen on it, Union flags handing behind her, framing her body to make her look more important. "Ladies and gentlemen," she began, "if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech… I'm afraid that's been cancelled."

As Harriet Jones spoke softly to an aide off screen, Oliviana pouted. "Oh no, I was _so_ looking forward to that."

Harriet Jones continued. "But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor… If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God, help us."

Harriet Jones paused solemnly, indicating a moment of prayer perhaps, when suddenly a massive popping sound came from outside. Oliviana jumped up slightly out of surprise, but the Master steadied her by tightening his embrace. "It seems the Sycorax ship has entered the atmosphere," he murmured in her ear.

Just the sound of his voice was enough to calm her down enough to forget her worrying. She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. "Can't we do anything to stop it?"

The Master chuckled fondly and shook his head, kissing the top of her head and smoothing down her hair. "We don't need to," he replied, "because either the Doctor or Harriet Jones or the both of them together will find a way to mangle this beyond all belief."

Oliviana sighed and relaxed against his chest. "Koschei, the Sycorax invasion could be detrimental to our plan," she reminded him. "We can't take the world from the Doctor if the Sycorax already have done it for themselves."

"As much as I dislike to admit," Koschei began slowly, "our dear Theta Sigma is quite good at protecting the Earth from invasions. Ever since we were young he has always believed in creating a universe where all species can coexist… except for Daleks, of course."

"Of course," Oliviana echoed, relieved that she never had to come into contact with that species.

"Beside the fact that the Doctor prevented us from traveling further into Earth's past than a few months ago, I wanted to make sure that the launch of Archangel Network happened today because today is the day that Harriet Jones, Prime Minister," the Master laughed at his impression of the woman's standard introduction, "executes an alien species in front of the Doctor's eyes. And he is powerless to stop it."

"How do you know that will happen?"

The Master smirked smugly. "So I might have had another reason for why I picked today to launch the Archangel Network."

Oliviana craned her neck to raise an eyebrow at him. "Another reason? How many reasons could you possibly have?"

"Today, according to the files I found on the TARDIS relating to Harriet Jones and Torchwood, is the day that Harriet Jones executes the Sycorax," Koschei began, but was interrupted by Oliviana telling him to skip that part since he said it already. He shot her a look that told her to be patient, before continuing again. "Once the Doctor learns that, he will do something that will cause the downfall of Harriet Jones. I wanted to launch Archangel Network today to capitalize on her downfall as well as the Doctor's betrayal."

"Can't we just see it for ourselves?" Oliviana asked, smiling excitedly at the idea that just occurred to her. "Please, Koschei? I want to watch the Doctor suffer betrayal at the hands of one of his most revered humans."

Koschei grinned and pulled out a vortex manipulator from his suit pocket. "Do you have the perception filters I asked you to retrieve from the TARDIS?"

Oliviana nodded and reached into her cardigan pocket, which was, of course, a product of Gallifreyan transdimensional engineering. "Of course," she said, handing one of the filters to him and putting the other around her neck.

Koschei stood up and helped her up after him. "Shall we, my Lady?"

Oliviana linked one arm through his and placed her other hand on the vortex manipulator. "We shall."

The Master reached into his pocket and pulled out his laser screwdriver and aimed it at the vortex manipulator to ensure precise landing.

* * *

><p>After a few moments and a rather unsettling trip through the Time Vortex, the Master and the Duchess lurked in the shadows, watching the scene unfold before them. Oliviana realized this was a time before the Doctor knew of her survival of the Time War.<p>

Above, the Sycorax ship flew off into space, away from the planet Earth. A young man began to cheer wildly. "Go on, my son!" he shouted at the sky. "Oh, yeah!"

The Master leaned close to Oliviana. "According to TARDIS records, that male is Mickey Smith." A blonde girl began to cheer as well. "And that would be Rose Tyler."

"It is defended!" Mickey articulated, as if the Sycorax ship could actually hear him. Oliviana cocked her head to the side, not understanding why Mickey and Rose were shouting so much.

Harriet Jones walked over to the Doctor. "My Doctor."

"Prime Minister," the Doctor nodded. A moment later they hugged.

"Absolutely the same man," she observed. Oliviana realized this must be the beginning of the Doctor's tenth regeneration. "Are there many more out there?"

The Master snorted quietly at the question but said nothing.

"Oh, not just Sycorax," the Doctor drawled, "hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself; everyday you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it."

"Do you think he knows about Archangel?" Oliviana asked, partially worried that the Doctor figured out the presence of low-level mind control.

"No, I doubt it," Koschei replied pensively. He had the same thought, but he would bet _almost_ anything that the Doctor wouldn't notice it. He never did.

An older blonde woman came running over to the group. "Rose!"

Rose went running to the woman. "Mum!"

The Doctor groaned. "Oh, talking of trouble," he muttered under his breath.

Rose's mum continued fussing. "Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!"

"Wait, watch over there," the Master whispered, directing her attention over to Harriet Jones's assistant who was taking a call on his mobile. He said a few words to it, before turning to Harriet Jones and motioning for her to follow him away from the crowd.

Once they were alone, the assistant informed the Prime Minister. "It's a message from Torchwood," he stated. "They say they're ready."

Harriet Jones set her face. "Tell them to fire."

Alex nodded. "Fire at will," he said into the mobile curtly.

The Master counted down from five, bracing himself for something by pulling Oliviana against his chest.

Five green laser beams shot through the sky, meeting above them and firing through the atmosphere. Moments later, there was a loud explosion as the beam tally hit the Sycorax ship.

Rose shrieked. "What is that? What's happening?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes dangerously in Harriet Jones's direction. "That was murder."

Harriet Jones ignored his admonishment. "That was defense. It's adapted from alien technology from a ship that fell to the Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving."

"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth," the Prime Minister fired back. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major- they were murdered. They died right in front of me, while you were _sleeping_. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's Golden Age," the Doctor spit out angrily.

Harriet Jones looked into the sky wearily. "It comes with a price."

"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming- the human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf," Harriet Jones argued indignantly.

"Then I should have stopped you."

She looked at him skeptically. "What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"

He took a step in her direction. "Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word."

"Ooh, here it comes," the Master whispered with excitement.

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that," Harriet Jones replied.

"No, you're right," the Doctor conceded. "Not a single word- just _six_."

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Six words."

"Stop it!"

"Six," the Doctor replied, before walking over to Harriet Jones's assistant and whispering in his ear, just quiet enough for only the assistant and the two Time Lords in hiding to hear it. "Don't you think she looks tired?"

"Oh, now he _is_ good!" the Master muttered, impressed with his old friend, turned enemy. "I forgot how clever he can be."

As the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, and Rose's mum walked away from Harriet Jones and her assistant, the Prime Minister began unraveling before their eyes, giving in to her paranoia about what the Doctor said.

Oliviana turned towards Koschei in his arms and looked up at him, a big smile on her face. "I liked that, Koschei, thank you."

He smiled back down at her and pressed the Vortex Manipulator, bringing them back to the TARDIS.

A few hours later, as the Master and Oliviana prepared for the news conference at which Harold Saxon would announce the launch of Archangel Network, Oliviana spotted the Prime Minister on the screen.

A man in the crowd shouted at Harriet Jones. "Prime Minister, is it true you are no longer fit to be in position?"

Flustered, Harriet Jones gaped at the question. "No! Now, can we talk about other things?"

But the man continued to question her. "Is it true you're unfit for office?"

Harriet Jones sighed deeply, looking older than she ever had. "Look, there is nothing wrong with my health! I don't know where these stories are coming from. And a vote of no confidence is completely unjustified."

"Are you going to resign?" the man shouted in response.

The Prime Minister rolled her eyes in exasperation. "On today of all days. I'm fine! Look at me, I'm fine. I look fine; I feel fine."

The video cut out to reveal a newsreader in studio. "And we are getting reports that the Prime Minister will face a vote of no confidence in the next few weeks if she does not find some way to reassure the public that she is capable of running the country."

The Master walked out of the TARDIS wardrobe and put an arm around her waist as he watched the news report too. "Anything about the news conference later?"

"It should be coming on now."

Sure enough, the newsreader changed subject rapidly. "In other news, in a few short hours we will be bringing you live coverage of the Archangel Network press conference. There will be a short question and answer session with Archangel Network's inventor and owner, Harold Saxon. Early reports predict that this will change the nature of satellite communication entirely."

The Master smirked. "Oh, now doesn't that sound perfect?" he asked Oliviana, pressing his lips against hers before she could respond.

* * *

><p>"Mister Saxon, there have been several reports that Archangel Network will literally 'change the nature of satellite communication entirely,'" the reporter repeated the quote directly from his miniature notebook. He looked up at the podium. "How do you respond to that?"<p>

The Master nodded humbly, playing up his role as Harold Saxon. Oliviana, in her role as Lucy Saxon, smiled prettily at the camera from her position behind her husband. "I would say they are completely correct in that assessment," he replied good-naturedly, laughing with the crowd that laughed as well. "But in all seriousness, I believe Archangel Network will be beneficial for the world. No more will carriers have to deal with inconsistent practices among satellite carriers."

Oliviana gazed adoringly at Koschei, loving how amazing he looked in the light of the camera recording the press conference.

He continued addressing the crowd. "Archangel Network will provide one-hundred percent coverage to the world through its fifteen strategically-placed satellites. Coverage rates will be the same for every single nation and continent. Rates will not go up."

A reporter stood up to ask a question. "Vivien Rock, _Sunday Mirror_," she said, introducing herself and the paper she wrote for. "Forgive my asking, but why would you offer coverage at such a low rate? What's the catch?"

The Master didn't flinch as he answered the attack flawlessly. "I am not a businessman, and I am not looking to make a profit. I simply do not see the sense in lining the pockets of executives who charge excessive rates for satellite coverage. And I believe there are others out there who, like me, want a simple satellite network that charges only what it needs to operate efficiently and humanely. Archangel Network is that network. The telecommunications breakthrough of the twenty-first century is Archangel Network. Thank you."

The Master smiled once more at the cameras, before placing a hand on the small of Oliviana's back, guiding her away from the platform, signaling the end of the press conference.

"Step one complete," Oliviana grinned.

"Step one complete," the Master agreed.

* * *

><p>"This is Julianna Thomas, reporting live to you in front of Canary Wharf. It was just announced here, a few minutes ago, that Harold Saxon, the man behind the telecommunications breakthrough, Archangel Network, will be sharing more of his knowledge with the world," the newsreader announced, shifting from one foot to another, trying not to feel the blistering January wind. "His new book, <em>The Truth of Aerodynamic Theory,<em> explores the complex world of designing military aircraft. The book is slated to be available on shelves tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p>"Lucy Saxon," Oliviana introduced herself, extending her hand for a handshake, "I'm here for the two-o'clock meeting with General Marshall."<p>

The young secretary shook her hand delicately so as to not ruin her newly-manicured fingernails. "Yes, we have been expecting you. I will call for the General right now." She motioned to the elegant sitting area. "If you would be so kind to wait a few moments?"

"Of course," Oliviana replied, sitting on an expensive leather chair. While she still had a few moments to herself, she went over the plan in her mind, making sure to remember every part of what she had to do.

"Mrs. Saxon, I presume?" a short, unassuming man in military regalia asked as he approached Oliviana.

Oliviana stood up and greeted the man warmly. "Yes, General Marshall, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"May I?" the General asked, leading Oliviana down a hall to a private conference room. They sat in chairs on opposite sides of the long mahogany table.

"Now, am I correct in understanding that you wish to put in a word for your husband regarding the Valiant commission?"

Oliviana nodded eagerly and smiled charmingly at the man, noticing his face flush slightly. "That would be correct," she replied smoothly. "Shortly before the accident, my father asked me to convince you to give the commission to Harold. I only hope to be successful in completing his dying wishes. You understand, don't you, General?"

_"__Liana, darling, you don't have to worry at all about this."_

_Oliviana rolled her eyes in Koschei's direction. "You could have warned be prior to this that you tampered with the personal history of Lucy Saxon to such an extent."_

_The Master pulled her against his chest and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I had to make sure Lucy Saxon's personal history was more airtight than Harold Saxon's; Lucy Saxon is supposed to be the daughter of prominent London politicians. That's how I will get the political connections in the beginning."_

_Oliviana knew he was right and sighed uneasily. "I still don't like this."_

_The Master chuckled. "You don't have to like it," he said, "you just have to do it."_

_"__You're impossible."_

The General considered the proposition for a long moment, and Oliviana feared that the mind control beaming her personal history to the world didn't penetrate the walls of this building. "Your father was a great man, God rest his soul," he finally said. "Of course, I will personally ensure that your husband receives the commission."

"There is one caveat to my husband's acceptance of the commission, however," Oliviana replied slowly, narrowing her eyes at the man as if daring him to see what she would do if he refused her demand.

"Yes, I gathered completion of the commission would come with certain conditions," Marshall admitted tiredly. He just hoped the price wouldn't be too steep for Harold Saxon's cooperation.

Oliviana reached into her purse and pulled out a thick manila envelope, which she slid across the table for the General to read. "You will find all the details inside, General," she stated airily, as if the envelope contained simple requests. "I know you will not let my father, myself, or my husband down. You will do the right thing."

"As promised, effective tomorrow morning, you will be the new Secretary of State for Defense, Mister Saxon," General Marshall congratulated Harold Saxon, heartily shaking the younger man's hand. "I trust that you will make all of us at UNIT proud to have assured your appointment to the Ministry of Defense."

The Master flashed the General his famous charming grin. "You will not regret this, General."

The General nodded and looked to Oliviana briefly. "Your husband has done an amazing job completing the design and construction of the Valiant in just under one month. He must have had teams working around the clock, didn't he?"

Oliviana laughed lightly at the suggestion that the massive aircraft carrier could have been built in one month; in reality, it was only possible through the use of the TARDIS. Time had to be manipulated in order to work that quickly. "My husband is quite the technological genius."

"Yes, he is, isn't he," the General admitted, laughing along with her. "I have it in mind to start a pool among my colleagues to see how long it will take before Harold Saxon rules the world."

The Master smirked; if only the General knew how right his joking was. "I'd love to catch up with you, General Marshall, but I am afraid I have a very important meeting to attend at my laboratory in twenty-minutes, so I must bid you good-day."

"Well, in that case I will head out now," the General said, heading towards the door. "I don't want to keep you from your work. Good-day!"

Once the General had left their house, Oliviana kissed the Master passionately, relieved that this part of the plan was finally almost over. They had built the Valiant and he had been appointed the Minister of Defense.

"All that remains is to initiate the second phase of Archangel Network," Koschei grinned excitedly, completing her thoughts out loud.

"May I join you?"

"I thought you'd never ask, _Lucy_," the Master replied, typing coordinates into the Vortex Manipulator.

* * *

><p>Julianna Thomas looked straight into the camera. "Scientists and telecommunications specialists are working around the clock to figure out exactly what caused all non-Archangel satellites to crash. We are receiving early reports that the virus is of possible terrorist origin, but as of right now, no terrorist groups have come forward to claim involvement."<p>

She took a deep breath, knowing her station had luckily switched to Archangel satellites one week ago. They were still able to transmit broadcasts, but other stations were not.

"Newly-installed Minister of Defense, Harold Saxon, says he is looking into a possible solution for the virus, but in the meantime, he has suspended all sales of Archangel Network coverage, in order to provide free coverage through his satellites in an unprecedented move for the telecommunications business industry."

"This is Julianna Thomas, signing off. Back to you, Patricia."


	21. Army of Ghosts & Doomsday

**A/N:** Hi everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm not going to apologize because I do have a life outside of FanFiction, so obviously I can't update all the time, but I am going to apologize for not warning you all before. I'm going to try to update once every two weeks at the very latest. Not sure if anyone's noticed either, but I **finally** figured out how to consolidate my chapters. Apparently it works better on Google Chrome, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I also decided to name the chapters, but that was more for me to organize and edit the chapters (this way I know which one I'm accessing). And so, yes, I am currently going through the older chapters to edit them for spelling and continuity errors. So, yay! big things happening here!

Also, I'm going to start responding to reviews on the reviews page (pretty sure I can do that?) because it'll take up less room here. And I confuse myself sometimes. So yay once again :) Anyways, I absolutely love and appreciate reviews because they make me want to write faster :)

* * *

><p>"Mister Saxon, I'm afraid I really must inquire as to the steps your department is taking in regard to the ghost problem."<p>

The Master sighed silently, rolling his eyes to stare at the ceiling where he hoped he would find the patience to deal with his superior, technically speaking, _of course_.

"I understand your concern, Prime Minister," he struggled to say calmly as he leaned back in his chair away from the speaker phone on the large conference table, "but I am afraid that the information concerning the ghost shifts is confidential, available on a need-to-know basis, you see."

Harriet Jones, on the other hand, sighed in frustration, perfectly aware that her Minister of Defense would hear her dissatisfaction loudly and clearly. "Saxon, I am the Prime Minister, and as such, your superior," she reminded him sternly. "I say what I need to know, not the other way around. Understood?"

"Perfectly, ma'am," the Master replied.

The phone was silent for a moment as Harriet Jones was shocked by his blatant lack of reverence for her position. "Saxon, I am in no mood to play _games_ with you," she growled, finally losing her temper. "I have too much to deal with at the moment."

That, actually, made the Master smirk with amusement. Oliviana had been keeping him updated on the Prime Minister's downfall into public disgrace when she wasn't too busy infiltrating the ranks of Torchwood.

There was nothing like the threat of governmental action at the hands of the Minister of Defense to open the doors for the Minister's wife. Oliviana loved the power she now held over various government and non-government departments and divisions simply because she was "married" to one of the most powerful men in the country. It was like being the wife of the Lord President, but instead of being on Gallifrey, she was enjoying the perks on Earth among humans.

"Yes," he drawled, "I heard about the threat of the no-confidence vote."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Saxon," Harriet Jones snapped. "Tell me what you are going to do about this before the ghost shifts become more noticeable. So far the shifts are confined to rural areas where we are able to execute damage control promptly... But what is your plan for dealing with ghost shifts located in more populated areas?"

"If you must know," the Master said, leaning closer to the speakerphone and beginning to subconsciously tap the rhythmic drumbeat on the table without realizing he was doing it, "I have a news conference scheduled for later this afternoon to discuss the issue."

"I am only going to say this one time, Mister Saxon, so do not make me repeat myself," Harrier Jones said slowly and clearly, hoping he would not make her regret her decision. "Do not, under any circumstances, reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life. The world simply cannot handle it. Blame it on gas leaks if you have to, just do not confirm the presence of aliens on Earth, especially not on English soil."

The Master cocked an eyebrow; Harriet Jones certainly was a fool if she was going to continue to deny the existence of extraterrestrial life. "And what if I happen to defy you?"

"I will destroy your political career," she vowed coldly. "I am aware you plan to run against me in the next General Election. I can ruin your chances before you even declare your intentions to run against me."

"You could do that," the Master conceded, "but then you would have to actually stand a chance of defeating me in an election, which, might I remind _you_, I am not the one who faces a vote of no confidence." He paused, grinning with the knowledge that she was probably fuming, red in the face, at his statement. "Now, good-day ma'am. _Pleasure_ as aways."

* * *

><p>Oliviana gazed adoringly at the Master as he surveyed the crowd below from their slightly elevated position on the steps of the great building behind them. He was so calm and cool in the spotlight, suave and charming every time the cameras were rolling. His brilliance had a hypnotic factor that had even her, a Gallifreyan, under his spell... and she loved every minute of every day of it. Under his spell was where she always had wanted to be.<p>

"People of Britain," the Master began, staring into the bright lights of the news cameras confidently, "I stand here before you today to discuss a matter of national importance... By now you all have heard rumors of supernatural events, sometimes referred to as 'Ghost Shifts'."

He paused for dramatic effect, knowing all those watching the news conference would likely be very shocked to have a senior government official address the rumors that had been circulating for weeks around the rural areas. "The Ministry of Defense, under my direction, has been working closely with the Torchwood Institute to analyze and predict these ghost shifts. At this point in time, we can confirm that the shifts, as well as the ghosts, are legitimate and, more importantly, safe."

There were sounds of hushed murmurs emanating through the crowd below, but the Master continued on. "Over the next few weeks, perhaps months, your ancestors will be able to walk the Earth with you once more, as ghosts. We do not yet know the cause of their reappearance on Earth, but let us call it what it really is, a _miracle._ A miracle, from God, or whichever deity or deities you may or may not believe in. This is a _miracle_... the manifestation of all of our loved ones on Earth is a _miracle_."

Oliviana felt her pulse racing as Koschei spoke to the crowd; the feeling of excitement and astonishment affected even her, despite the fact she had known about the ghost shifts ever since she had begun working with Torchwood.

"People of Britain, I stand here before you today to share this miracle with you all because I do not believe in depriving the public of the truth, as other governmental officials choose to do," he said, referring to Harriet Jones's non-information policy. "I believe that the citizens of Britain are brilliant... so much more brilliant than those in power think you all are. But not me, I _know_ how brilliant you are. I see you as you really are, people of Britain, and I _respect _you."

"Time for the kill, Koschei," Oliviana whispered to herself excitedly, smiling widely into the cameras fixed on _Harold Saxon_.

"I stand before you all today, not as a Minister of Defense, but as a candidate for the upcoming General Election," the Master announced, eliciting a loud response of support from the crowd. "My platform will be full disclosure and honesty pertaining to all things the previous regime hides away under wraps. When you all go to cast your vote, people of Britain, remember to vote for the candidate who promises to tell you the truth. Remember to vote for the candidate who told you about the ghost shift miracle. Remember to Vote Saxon."

* * *

><p>Yvonne Hartman grinned at the workers before her. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to announce we've just measured the ghost energy at five-thousand gigawatts. Give yourselves a round of applause."<p>

The room erupted into applause and Yvonne smiled one last time before returning to her office, shutting the door behind her. "Five-thousand gigawatts," she sighed tiredly, collapsing into the chair opposite the blonde woman.

Oliviana nodded. "And to think, two months ago, people ran amok whenever the ghosts appeared."

Yvonne laughed, recalling the mass chaos that occurred. "We all have your husband, Harold Saxon, to thank for that, calming the people down with that charm he has." Oliviana chuckled at his _charm_. "You're quite the lucky woman, Lucy. He's quite the handsome man."

"He is, isn't he?" Oliviana smirked, crossing her legs and leaning back into the cushioned chair. "I can't imagine how popular he will be once he is the Prime Minister."

"You're sure he will win the election, then?" Yvonne asked, although she knew the answer, Harold Saxon was the best candidate anyone had seen for years. He was just so _good_.

"There was a piece in the _Sunday Mirror_ last week showing Harold's lead by at least ten points. Harriet Jones and Albert Dumfries couldn't possibly stand a chance against numbers like those," Oliviana replied. "So, yes, I am sure he will win... But that's far in the future, and we have more important things to focus on, such as that power surge that occurred."

Yvonne grimaced and hoped that Mrs. Saxon wasn't too put off by the power surge to convince her husband to stop funding the Torchwood Institute's experiments. "I am sure nothing is the matter, but I will check anyway," she said, standing up and heading to the door. "If you would wait for a few moments?"

Once Oliviana was alone, she pulled out her mobile and called the Master. He greeted her warmly, as if he wasn't surrounded by reporters and people working for him. "Harold," she said, using his human name as they did in public, just in case they were being listened to, "I just spoke to Yvonne Hartman over at Torchwood about the recent ghost shift; there seemed to be a power event on this end. Is that going to be a problem? I can pull the plug on the project at any time."

The Master chuckled. "No, don't be silly, Lucy, _darling_, I am sure she has everything under control."

Oliviana raised an eyebrow at his response, instantly knowing he was being careful with his words because of who he was around. "Who is it, this time? That Department of Transportation fool, Arthur Clarke?"

He laughed and held up a finger, indicating to the people that he wanted privacy as he ducked into his private office at the Ministry. "No, I'm headed to another meeting with George Cox. He's absolutely insufferable, but the man gets things done."

"Why don't you invite him over for tea tonight?" she suggested, knowing that George Cox would immediately support Harold Saxon upon George seeing her. "I'm sure that would do the trick."

"Do I have to?" the Master complained, somewhat childishly. "I am still considering skinning him alive for the way he talked to you during the charity ball last weekend."

Oliviana rolled her eyes at his threat, but didn't doubt the veracity of it one bit. "He was not aware that I am your wife, Harry. I'm sure once he knows, he will support you one-hundred percent."

"If only to get closer to you," he grumbled, sighing once he realized that her idea was going to work. "Fine, I'll invite him for tea tonight... But I will skin him if he so much as makes one inappropriate comment to you. I do need to re-bind some old leather books in our library, and I think his skin would complement the mahogany shelves, don't you agree?"

"Yes, darling," Oliviana smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Yvonne approaching the room. "I have to go now, Yvonne's coming back."

"Will you be able to get lunch with me?"

"Unfortunately, I agreed to a lunch meeting with Nancy Price," she replied.

The Master rolled his eyes at the name. "Isn't it enough that you talked with her at the charity ball?"

"Harold, she is very important in the Department of Education, not to mention she is the cousin of that reporter Vivien Rooke, who, might I remind you, is digging into both of our pasts," Oliviana replied curtly. "Besides, I had to talk to _someone_ while you and Professor Whatever-his-name-is practically spouted poetry to one another."

"I resent that, you know we need his technology."

"I fail to see why you need to rely on an old man to make new technology for you," she sighed, "but if you must, please keep me out of it. It's disturbing how creepy he actually is... Oh, Yvonne's almost here; I'll call you later."

The Master said 'good-bye' and hung up the phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose to compose himself, remembering that he couldn't let the humans know just yet how he _really_ felt about them.

A loss of temper, especially a Time Lord's temper, would be doubly bad for him. Not only would the humans not vote for him in the General Election, but Oliviana would practically try to kill him.

And knowing the wrath of Time Ladies, she might actually succeed.

* * *

><p>"And we're into Ghost Shift," Yvonne announced, slipping on a pair of darkened sunglasses as the laboratory filled with bright light, signifying the newest ghost shift.<p>

"Online," the computer notified the scientists.

Yvonne had a fleeting hint of a smile on her face as she thought that perhaps, for once today, there would be no issue with the ghost shift. Of course, she was a little peeved that the shift couldn't go off without a hitch when Mrs. Saxon was visiting the Institute, but worse things had happened before than an upset benefactor.

She thought everything was all in the clear too soon, however; at that moment, an alarm rang through the Institute. "What've we got?" she demanded the scientist. _This time_, she thought with frustration. Perhaps it was a good thing that Mrs. Saxon had to leave so soon.

"Something's interfering with the ghost field."

"Location?"

"It's close," the scientist responded. "It's within the city."

Yvonne groaned and threw her hands in the air in frustration. "There goes another Ghost Sift," she exclaimed, deciding to prematurely end the shift to get to the bottom of the issue once again. "Close it down! Close it down!"

"Offline," the computer announced, shutting down on command.

"What the _hell_ went wrong this time?" she demanded.

The young scientist examined the readings. "It was a very specific excitation of the ghost field, which makes it easy to pinpoint," he replied, his attention still focused largely on the computer. "Almost there... South London... South East fifteen. It's a council estate... the Powell Estate. SU15 7GO. It was a public area."

Yvonne nodded slightly, thinking over various contingency plans for dealing with interference. "Can we patch into the CCTV network?"

"Doing it now," the scientist responded. "Here we go. We've got a camera within fifty yards."

Yvonne was astonished when she saw who was responsible for interrupting the Ghost Shift. "Oh, my God."

"Is it him?"

Yvonne stared blankly at the screen, finally believing what Mrs. Saxon had told her when she first started donating money to the Torchwood Institute for the Ghost Shift Project- that the man on the screen was dangerous and not to be trusted. "It's him."

* * *

><p>"Now Ms. Price," Oliviana started with a level tone, hoping to not upset the older woman sitting across from her with her question.<p>

"Call me Nancy, please," Nancy Price insisted cordially, as Oliviana had insisted she call her Lucy instead of Mrs. Saxon earlier in the meal.

Oliviana smiled politely at the interruption. "Nancy," she corrected herself, "I have it under good authority that you are related to the _Sunday__ Mirror_ investigative journalist, Vivien Rook. Would I be correct?"

Nancy's complexion became a shade paler and she shifted in her seat. "Yes, Vivien is my cousin on my mother's side," she replied stiffly.

"Oh, I must apologize, Nancy," Oliviana said innocently, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with my question."

Nancy inhaled deeply to regain her composure. "No, it is I who must apologize," she said in a quieter tone, not wishing to upset the wife of a prominent politician. "Vivien and I are not on speaking terms. We haven't been for the past couple of decades."

"Why ever not, if I may ask?"

"We ascribe to different modes of ethics. While I believe in transparency and honesty to further my work in the Department of Education, Vivien believes in deceit and bribery to further her goals in the journalistic realm," Nancy explained.

Oliviana took a sip of her tea and gently replaced it on the dainty saucer. "Your work with fixing the problems inherent in the school systems of various counties should be praised," she remarked. "You truly have outdone yourself."

Nancy smiled at the praise; she was happy someone was _finally_ noticing her hard work. "Thank you so much for the kind words, Mrs. Saxon."

"Lucy," Oliviana corrected lightly. "You know, just between you and me," she said, leaning towards Nancy, "my husband is very impressed by you."

"That's a great honor," Nancy replied. "Your husband is a very impressive man, himself."

"He is, isn't he?" Oliviana echoed. "I'm not sure if you have seen the most recent polls, but they show him in the lead. I am afraid I wasn't completely honest with my motivations for asking you to lunch today."

"Oh?"

"Harold asked me to discreetly find out if you would be interested in endorsing him," Oliviana explained, "but I thought that an honest woman such as yourself would appreciate my asking upfront."

Nancy was quiet for a few moments, thinking over her answer. "I would be honored to endorse Harold Saxon for Prime Minister under one condition."

"Yes?" Oliviana prompted.

"I would like to have a private meeting with him to ensure that he fully supports education reforms in Great Britain."

Oliviana grinned, but inside she felt like smirking like the cat that got the canary. She snared Nancy Price. "I can one-up your condition, Nancy Price," she chirped confidently. "On behalf of my husband, pending his election, I would like to ask if you would accept the position of being part of his cabinet?"

"You're asking whether or not I would like to be part of Harold Saxon's cabinet?" Nancy repeated in disbelief.

Oliviana nodded, still smiling. _If the woman knows what's best for her, she will accept at once_, she thought darkly.

Nancy smiled widely. "Of course, I would accept the position!"

Oliviana smiled back. "That's wonderful! I just have one, personal favor to ask of you."

"Anything, Lucy, whatever you want, consider it done."

"Would you do me a favor by asking your cousin to consider writing a piece on my husband for the _Sunday Mirror?_" Oliviana asked. "I think it would do wonders for the polls and the election if his ideas were exposed to a wider population, but I don't have any connections with journalists."

"But I do," Nancy insisted, not realizing she was being used. "I will talk to Vivien Rook and discuss the opportunity with her. Should I call you with her response?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you."

* * *

><p>"And so once I learned she had been dyeing over her grey streaks, that's when I knew I had to divorce her!" George Cox howled with laughter at his own joke.<p>

The Master's act was flawless as he laughed along with the sleazy politician sitting near him at the formal dining table.

Oliviana tried her hardest not to cringe outwardly at the distasteful joke at the expense of his newest ex-wife. "George, one of these days, you're going to run out of women to marry!" she added with a faked grin of amusement. Inside she prayed he would make a move on her so that the Master had an excuse to go through with his threat.

"My dear Lucy is right, George," the Master chimed in, "isn't it a bit hypocritical of you to divorce someone over greying hair when you, yourself, are greying as well?"

George dropped his silverware onto the table and Oliviana tried not to jump at the man's lack of polite manners. Being a human was no excuse for poor table manners. After taking a long swig of his wine, George chuckled. "It's one thing for a man to show his age," he replied heartily, turning to Oliviana to add, "it makes him look suave and debonair."

"Is that so?" she challenged.

"Of course, Lucy," he winked in her direction, causing the Master to grip his knife harder. "But it is quite another thing for my wife to do so. I simply have to have a young, attractive woman on my arms, you see."

"Yes, of course," the Master conceded, placing the knife down so he wouldn't be tempted to carve into the man's neck instead of the beef on his plate.

"And your lovely wife is quite taken, so I'm afraid I must continue to search for the next-best woman in England," George finished, not noticing the uncomfortable expressions on his hosts' faces.

"Quite right," the Master said. He looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time, I'm afraid you should be heading home before the next Ghost Shift occurs. I'll send the car for you."

The Master, Oliviana, and George stood up and walked to the front entrance where a car was waiting for the politician. George and the Master shook hands. "Thank you for inviting me over for tea, Harold, I had such a lovely time talking to you and Lucy again," he said, winking once more in Lucy's direction.

"It was our pleasure," the Master replied, his voice not betraying the dangerous glint in his eyes that only Oliviana was able to discern. "You are my biggest supporter, and as such, are indispensable."

* * *

><p>"Koschei, can we use the TARDIS to redo tonight?" Oliviana asked, resting her head against his chest as they lounged on their bed in the TARDIS, watching the news later that night. "That was a good night wasted with a poor-excuse for a man."<p>

He chuckled and kissed her head. "It is still light out, perhaps there still can be hope for the rest of the night?" he said suggestively.

Oliviana was about to respond in the same suggestive manner until a man on the television caught her attention.

"It's extraordinary, there are more ghosts than we've ever seen before, and it's happening all over the world," the man announced, before the camera cut to a police commander.

"As far as we know, the increase in ghost activity is harmless," the police commander said.

"Koschei, are you certain the ghosts are unable to enter the TARDIS?" Oliviana asked, looking up at him with slight worry etched on her face.

He smiled down at her and adjusted the blanket around their bodies to let her snuggle up closer to him. "I'm one-hundred percent sure, Liviana. You're safe right here with me."

"They're not ghosts!" the presenter on the television suddenly shouted. "They're metal men!"

Oliviana watched the television in horror as a Cyberman strangled the presenter. The television cut out to the police commissioner once more. "I urge you, stay in your homes!"

"Damn it!" the Master cursed. "I should have thought of the idea of Cybermen from Void-Space. That's absolutely brilliant! And they thought of it themselves!"

Oliviana giggled at his self-deprecating reaction to the news. "Better luck next time, darling," she said, arching her back to kiss him on the lips briefly. "They better not ruin the plan. I will be absolutely furious if we sucked up to all of those politicians for nothing."

"Relax, Oliviana," he murmured, lowering their bodies to the bed and pulling the covers around them once again, "they're just Cybermen. Without a commander or a Cyberking, they're practically useless."

"You sound like you'd love to fill in the vacancy," Oliviana joked, giggling at the feathery kisses the Master was leaving along her jawline.

"I would love to modify Cybermen one day," he agreed, "just not when I'm busy focusing on the most beautiful Time Lady I have ever seen."

"Oh? What about Rysra, Koschei? You two were engaged for quite some time, if I remember correctly," she teased, knowing he couldn't stand the conceited Time Lady.

"Yes, well, she was practically a Sontaran compared to you, my Lady Duchess," the Master smirked, pressing his lips against hers as he rolled on top of her.

Oliviana felt her hearts begin to race faster at the sudden weight on top of her and she tangled her fingers in his soft brown hair, pulling his face closer to hers to deepen the kiss.

The Master's fingers teased her exposed skin along her neckline, and she sat up to give him easier access when she accidentally got a peak at the television. "Shit!" she exclaimed, pushing the Master away from her and pointing at the screen.

The Master groaned in complaint, but nevertheless rolled off of her to look at the screen. He was pleasantly surprised that a Cyberman had the intelligence to broadcast its message over it.

The Cyberman looked blankly at the camera. "Cybermen now occupy every landmass on this planet, but you need not fear," it announced in the distinct monotone. "Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex and class and color and creed."

"Oh, no, not _sex!"_ the Master grinned roguishly, purposely using the word's other meaning, as he ran a hand over Oliviana's chest.

"Koschei!" she exclaimed, startled by the sensation created by his hand brushing over the soft fabric covering her sensitive skin.

"You will become identical," the Cyberman continued. "You will become like us."

"What the _hell_ is going on at Torchwood?" Oliviana said, reaching over to the end table to retrieve her phone. Yvonne didn't answer the call. "Can you patch us into the Institute?"

"Do you even need to ask if I can?" the Master retorted, rolling his eyes and adjusting a setting on the laser screwdriver before flashing it at the television. Yvonne's office came on screen, but there was nothing of importance happening, so he adjusted it to show the laboratory with the Void ship.

"Daleks _and_ Cybermen!" he cried out happily. "This must be the Feast of Omega!"

Oliviana chuckled at his excitement that paralleled the excitement of young Gallifreyans on the festive holiday, anxiously awaiting their presents.

"Identify yourselves," the dalek demanded to the Cybermen opposite it.

"You will identify first."

"State your identity," the dalek demanded once more.

"You will identify first."

"Identify!"

Oliviana assumed that if daleks had eyes and could roll them they most definitely would.

"That answer is illogical," the Cyberman replied. "You will modify."

"Daleks do not take orders."

"You have identified as Daleks."

"Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen."

The Master laughed loudly. "The sass of these two species is _brilliant_! Why the Time Lords never thought of this as a potential source of entertainment is beyond me," he said. "When we return home, I will make sure this show-off can happen again."

"Long range scans confirm the presence of crude cybernetic constructs on a worldwide scale," the dalek retorted.

"We must protect the Genesis Ark," a second dalek added.

The Master's face paled. "Well, that's not good."

"Genesis Ark?" Oliviana asked, but received no answer from him as he focused more on the television.

"Our species are similar," the Cyberman allowed, "though your design is inelegant."

"Daleks have no concept of elegance," the dalek replied.

"This is obvious," the Cyberman retorted, making Oliviana forget about the issue of the Genesis Ark as she laughed. "But consider, our technologies are compatible... Cybermen plus Daleks. Together we could rule the universe."

"Hey! That's my job!" the Master shouted at the television as if he thought the species would be able to hear him.

"You propose an alliance?" the dalek asked the Cyberman.

"This is correct."

"Request denied."

The Cybermen readied their weapons and trained them on the dalek. "Hostile elements will be deleted."

Once the Cybermen began shooting at the Dalek, the Dalek erupted into an "Exterminate!" and decimated the hostile Cyberman.

In the background, a viewscreen was activated, revealing what Oliviana supposed was the Cyberleader. "Daleks, be warned," the Cyberleader said. "You have declared war upon the Cybermen."

"This is not war," the Dalek replied, "this is pest control."

"The sass in these species," the Master said, enjoying himself once more.

"We have five million Cybermen," the Cyberleader reported. "How many are you?"

"Four."

If the Cybermen could feel emotions, Oliviana commented that the Cyberleader was feeling indignation. "You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?" the Cyberleader asked.

The Dalek wasted no time in responding. "We would destroy the Cybermen with _one_ Dalek... You are superior in only one respect."

"What is that?"

"You are better at dying," the dalek said. "Raise communications barrier!" it said, blocking the Cyberleader's view, just as the daleks, along with the Time Lords got a brief glance of the Doctor in the same room as the Cyberleader.

"What the hell is he doing there?" Oliviana cursed, sitting up straight. "He isn't supposed to arrive on Earth this soon!"

"Calm down, Liviana," Koschei said calmly, "we already know he will have to arrive after Utopia at some point to retrieve his precious TARDIS, it's all just a matter of when."

"Maybe it's now," Oliviana protested childishly.

"Obviously not, because he has his TARDIS still with him," he reminded her.

"Fine, but that still doesn't explain what he's doing here."

"I may be wrong," the Master began, "but I never am so let's forget I said that, _but_ in order for the Daleks on screen to have found some way to control the Genesis Ark-"

Oliviana interrupted him. "What _is_ the Genesis Ark?"

"Time Lord technology," he sighed, shaking his head. "I worked on it before you left. It was one of our contingency plans, so that's why I was never able to tell you what exactly I was working on."

"So how can daleks control Time Lord technology?"

"Well, if you hadn't interrupted me, you would know by now," the Master chided playfully. "In order for the daleks to have found some way to control the Genesis Ark, they would have to think differently than a dalek, _be_ different from a dalek. They had to become something more creative, less dalek. Do you understand?"

Not really, but she was trying her hardest. "So these daleks, the four of them, they're daleks, but they're somehow better than normal daleks?"

"Kind of," the Master said, "but they're more than that. They are the most lethal versions of a dalek because they can think."

"Are you saying that they can open the Ark?" Oliviana asked, still not understanding completely, mostly because she missed the entire Time War. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"It's a prison ship for Daleks. What do you think is the worst that can happen?"

"It opens up and sucks in the four daleks?"

The Master sighed; she really had no idea. "Not exactly. One touch from someone with Artron energy will cause the Genesis Ark to open up and release the millions of Daleks imprisoned inside during the Last Great Time War."

"Oh... I see the issue now," Oliviana stated blankly, feeling a sudden urge to hide in the depths of the TARDIS.

"Do you want me to go to Canary Wharf and see what I can do?"

"No, don't leave me," Oliviana worried, clinging to him, "the Doctor will figure something out. He always does."

"He does, doesn't he?" the Master observed darkly. "Well, he can escape Daleks and Cybermen, but he won't be able to escape a Time Lord and a Time Lady. He will not defeat us."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I hope you all liked it! I had to include the part with the Cybermen and Daleks because that has to be one of my most favorite scenes in the entire show because of the beautiful levels of sass. Once the dalek says, "this is not war, this is pest control," I pretty much die every time.


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